Input/output systems and devices for use with superconducting devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and devices for providing differential input/output communication with a superconducting device are described. Each differential I/O communication is electrically filtered using a respective tubular filter structure incorporating superconducting lumped element devices and high frequency dissipation by metal powder epoxy. A plurality of such tubular filter structures is arranged in a cryogenic, multi-tiered assembly further including structural/thermalization supports and a device sample holder assembly for securing a device sample, for example a superconducting quantum processor. The interface between the cryogenic tubular filter assembly and room temperature electronics is achieved using hermetically sealed vacuum feed-through structures designed to receive flexible printed circuit board cable.

BACKGROUND Field

This disclosure generally relates to input/output (I/O) systems anddevices for use with superconducting devices, and particularly relatesto electrical filters and I/O systems for use with superconducting-basedcomputing systems.

Superconducting Qubits

There are many different hardware and software approaches underconsideration for use in quantum computers. One hardware approachemploys integrated circuits formed of superconducting material, such asaluminum and/or niobium, to define superconducting qubits.Superconducting qubits can be separated into several categoriesdepending on the physical property used to encode information. Forexample, they may be separated into charge, flux and phase devices.Charge devices store and manipulate information in the charge states ofthe device; flux devices store and manipulate information in a variablerelated to the magnetic flux through some part of the device; and phasedevices store and manipulate information in a variable related to thedifference in superconducting phase between two regions of the phasedevice.

Quantum Processor

A computer processor may take the form of a quantum processor such as asuperconducting quantum processor. A superconducting quantum processormay include a number of qubits and associated local bias devices, forinstance two or more superconducting qubits. Further detail andembodiments of exemplary quantum processors that may be used inconjunction with the present systems, methods, and apparatus aredescribed in US Patent Publication No. 2006-0225165, US PatentPublication 2008-0176750, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/266,378,and PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US09/37984.

When operating highly sensitive electronics such as superconductingqubits, coupling devices and/or readout devices, it is highly desirableto eliminate or at least reduce any noise which would otherwiseadversely affect the operation of such electronics. For example, it ishighly desirable to eliminate or reduce noise when operating a quantumprocessor that includes a number of qubits and coupling devices.

When operating superconducting components in refrigerated environments,it is highly desirable to maintain all various components at suitablylow temperatures such that those components operate as superconductorsor have superconducting characteristics. For example, it is highlydesirable to maintain the qubits and coupling devices of a quantumprocessor at superconducting temperatures. It may also be highlydesirable to maintain the local bias devices and/or read out devices ofa quantum processor at superconducting temperatures. Also for example,it is highly desirable to maintain signal paths in an I/O system for thesuperconducting quantum processor at or around superconductingtemperatures. Further, it may be desirable to provide a structure thatallows easy placement and removal of a superconducting processor from arefrigerated environment. Such may allow simplification of testing,analysis, and/or repair.

Maintaining superconducting temperatures may be difficult since manymaterials that are capable of superconducting do not provide goodthermally conductive paths. Such may be particularly difficult with I/Osystems since such I/O systems interface with non-refrigeratedenvironments. Such difficulties are compounded where the structure isalso to provide for the easy placement and removal of a superconductingprocessor. The various embodiments discussed herein address theseproblems.

Superconducting Processor

A device sample may take the form of a superconducting processor, wherethe superconducting processor may not be a quantum processor in thetraditional sense. For instance, some embodiments of a superconductingprocessor may not focus on quantum effects such as quantum tunneling,superposition, and entanglement but may rather operate by emphasizingdifferent principles, such as for example the principles that govern theoperation of classical computer processors. However, there may still becertain advantages to the implementation of such superconductingprocessors. Due to their natural physical properties, superconductingprocessors in general may be capable of higher switching speeds andshorter computation times than non-superconducting processors, andtherefore it may be more practical to solve certain problems onsuperconducting processors.

Refrigeration

According to the present state of the art, a superconducting materialmay generally only act as a superconductor if it is cooled below acritical temperature that is characteristic of the specific material inquestion. For this reason, those of skill in the art will appreciatethat a computer system that implements superconducting processors mayimplicitly include a refrigeration system for cooling thesuperconducting materials in the system. Systems and methods for suchrefrigeration systems are well known in the art. A dilution refrigeratoris an example of a refrigeration system that is commonly implemented forcooling a superconducting material to a temperature at which it may actas a superconductor. In common practice, the cooling process in adilution refrigerator may use a mixture of at least two isotopes ofhelium (such as helium-3 and helium-4). Full details on the operation oftypical dilution refrigerators may be found in F. Pobell, Matter andMethods at Low Temperatures, Springer-Verlag Second Edition, 1996, pp.120-156. However, those of skill in the art will appreciate that thepresent systems, methods and apparatus are not limited to applicationsinvolving dilution refrigerators, but rather may be applied using anytype of refrigeration system.

Electrical Signal Filtering

During transmission, an electrical signal typically comprises aplurality of components each transmitting at a different frequency. The“filtering” of an electrical signal typically involves the selectiveremoval of certain frequencies from the electrical signal duringtransmission. Such filtering may be accomplished “passively” or“actively.” A passive electrical filter is one that operates withoutadditional power input; that is, the filtering is accomplished by thenatural characteristics of the materials or devices through which theelectrical signal is transmitted. Many such passive filters are known inthe art, including filters that implement lumped elements such asinductors and capacitors, collectively referred to as lumped elementfilters (LEFs).

Simple, passive lumped element filters include low-pass and high-passfilters. A low-pass filter is one that substantially filters out higherfrequencies and substantially allows lower frequencies to pass through.Conversely, a high-pass filter is one that substantially filters outlower frequencies and substantially allows higher frequencies to passthrough. The concepts of low-pass and high-pass filters may be combinedto produce “band-pass” filters, which effectively transmit a given rangeof frequencies and filter out frequencies that fall outside (above orbelow) of that range. Similarly, “band-stop” filters may be implementedwhich effectively transmit most frequencies and filter out frequenciesthat fall inside a given range.

Single-Ended Signaling vs. Differential Signaling

Single-ended signaling is a term used to describe a simple wiringapproach whereby a varying voltage that represents a signal istransmitted using a single wire. This single-ended signal is typicallyreferenced to an absolute reference voltage provided by a positive ornegative ground or another signal somewhere in the system. For a systemthat necessitates the transmission of multiple signals (each on aseparate signal path), the main advantage of single-ended signaling isthat the number of wires required to transmit multiple signals is simplyequal to the number of signals plus one for a common ground. However,single-ended signaling can be highly susceptible to noise that is pickedup (during transmission) by the signal wire and/or the ground path, aswell as noise that results from fluctuations in the ground voltage levelthroughout the system. In single-ended signaling, the signal that isultimately received and utilized by a receiving circuit is equal to thedifference between the signal voltage and the ground or referencevoltage at the receiving circuit. Thus, any fluctuations in the signaland/or reference voltage that occur between sending and receiving thesignal can result in a discrepancy between the signal that enters thesignal wire and the signal that is received by the receiving circuit.

Differential signaling is a term used to describe a wiring approachwhereby a data signal is transmitted using two complementary electricalsignals propagated through two separate wires. A first wire carries avarying voltage (and/or current) that represents the data signal and asecond wire carries a complementary signal that may be equal andopposite to the data signal. The complementary signal in the second wireis typically used as the particular reference voltage for eachdifferential signal, as opposed to an absolute reference voltagethroughout the system. In single-ended signaling, a single ground istypically used as a common signal return path. In differentialsignaling, a single ground may also be provided as a common return pathfor both the first wire and the second wire, although because the twosignals are substantially equal and opposite they may cancel each otherout in the return path.

Differential signaling has the advantage that it is less susceptible tonoise that is picked up during signal transmission and it does not relyon a constant absolute reference voltage. In differential signaling, thesignal that is ultimately received and utilized by a receiving circuitis equal to the difference between the data signal voltage (and/orcurrent) carried by the first wire and the complementary signal voltage(and/or current) carried by the second wire. There is no absolute groundreference voltage. Thus, if the first wire and the second wire aremaintained in close proximity throughout the signal transmission, anynoise coupled to the data signal is likely also to couple to thereference signal and therefore any such noise may be cancelled out inthe receiving circuit. Furthermore, because the data signal and thecomplementary signal are, typically, roughly equal in magnitude butopposite in sign, the signal that is ultimately received and utilized bythe receiving circuit may be approximately twice the magnitude of thedata signal alone. These effects can help to allow differentialsignaling to realize a higher signal-to-noise ratio than single-endedsignaling. The main disadvantage of differential signaling is that ituses approximately twice as many wires as single-ended signaling.However, in some applications this disadvantage is more than compensatedby the improved signal-to-noise ratio of differential signaling.

BRIEF SUMMARY

At least one embodiment may be summarized as an electrical filter deviceincluding a dielectric substrate including a signal surface and a groundsurface distinct from the signal surface, the dielectric substratehaving an input end and an output end, at least a first wide regionbetween the input and the output ends, the first wide region having afirst through-hole and a second through-hole, and at least a firstnarrow region between the input and the output ends; a first inputconductive trace and a second input conductive trace carried by thesignal surface at least proximate the input end of the dielectricsubstrate; a first output conductive trace and a second outputconductive trace carried by the signal surface at least proximate theoutput end of the dielectric substrate; a first signal conductive traceand a second signal conductive trace carried by the signal surface inthe first wide region of the dielectric substrate; a first groundconductive trace carried by the ground surface in the first wide regionof the dielectric substrate, such that the first and the second signalconductive traces are electrically insulated from the first groundconductive trace; a first length of conductor, wherein at least aportion of the first length of conductor is wound about the first narrowregion of the dielectric medium to form a first bottom coil; a secondlength of conductor, wherein at least a portion of the second length ofconductor is wound about the at least a portion of the first length ofconductor that is wound about the first narrow region of the dielectricmedium to form a first top coil, wherein the first top coil is woundabout the first bottom coil to form a first top-bottom coil pair; afirst capacitor and a second capacitor; an enclosure including a firstopen end and a second open end, wherein the enclosure is formed bysubstantially non-magnetic metal that separates an inner volume of theenclosure from an exterior thereof, and wherein the dielectricsubstrate, the first top-bottom coil pair, the first capacitor, and thesecond capacitor are received in the inner volume of the enclosure; aninput connector electrically connected to at least one of the first andthe second input conductive traces, wherein the input connectorphysically couples to the enclosure, thereby closing the first open endof the enclosure; and an output connector electrically connected to atleast one of the first and the second output conductive traces, whereinthe output connector physically couples to the enclosure, therebyclosing the second open end of the enclosure. The first narrow regionmay be interrupted by a first coiling tab that divides the first narrowregion into a first leftmost section and a first rightmost section; thefirst length of conductor may be wound about both the first leftmostsection and the first rightmost section in a first coiling direction,such that the first bottom coil is wound entirely in the first coilingdirection about the first narrow region; The second length of conductormay wound about the first leftmost section in the first coilingdirection such that a first section of the first top coil is wound inthe first coiling direction on top of the first bottom coil; the secondlength of conductor may wound at least partially around the firstcoiling tab; and the second length of conductor may be wound about thefirst rightmost section in a second coiling direction that is oppositeto the first coiling direction, such that a second section of the firsttop coil is wound in the second coiling direction on top of the firstbottom coil.

The first capacitor may be at least partially received in the firstthrough-hole of the first wide region and the second capacitor may be atleast partially received in the second through-hole of the first wideregion, and may further include an electrical connection between a firstend of the first capacitor and the first signal conductive trace and anelectrical connection between a second end of the first capacitor andthe first ground conductive trace, thereby providing a capacitivecoupling between the first signal conductive trace and the first groundconductive trace; and an electrical connection between a first end ofthe second capacitor and the second signal conductive trace and anelectrical connection between a second end of the second capacitor andthe first ground conductive trace, thereby providing a capacitivecoupling between the second signal conductive trace and the first groundconductive trace.

The electrical filter device may further include a damping resistorelectrically coupled to both the first signal conductive trace and thesecond signal conductive trace.

The enclosure may include a first hole that connects the inner volume ofthe enclosure to the exterior thereof, and wherein the dielectricsubstrate may be positioned inside the enclosure such that the firstwide region aligns with the first hole in the enclosure, and may furtherinclude a piece of solder that seals the first hole in the enclosure andthat provides an electrical connection between the first groundconductive trace and the enclosure.

The electrical filter device may further include an epoxy mixture thatincludes an epoxy and a metal powder that is predominatelynon-superconducting and substantially non-magnetic, wherein at least aportion of the inner volume of the enclosure is filled with the epoxymixture such that at least a portion of the first top-bottom coil pairis embedded in the epoxy mixture.

The electrical filter device may further include an electricalconnection between the first length of conductor and the first inputconductive trace; an electrical connection between the first length ofconductor and the first signal conductive trace; an electricalconnection between the second length of conductor and the second inputconductive trace; and an electrical connection between the second lengthof conductor and the second signal conductive trace.

The electrical filter device may further include an electricalconnection between the first length of conductor and the first outputconductive trace; and an electrical connection between the second lengthof conductor and the second output conductive trace. At least one of thelengths of conductor may include a material that is superconductingbelow a critical temperature. At least one of the conductive traces mayinclude a material that is superconducting below a critical temperature.

The dielectric substrate may further have a second wide region betweenthe first wide region and the output end, the second wide region havinga third and a fourth through-hole, and a second narrow region betweenthe first and the second wide regions, the electrical filter devicefurther including a third signal conductive trace and a fourth signalconductive trace carried by the signal surface of the second wide regionof the dielectric substrate; a second ground conductive trace carried bythe ground surface of the second wide region of the dielectricsubstrate, such that the third and the fourth signal conductive tracesare electrically insulated form the second ground conductive trace; athird length of conductor, wherein at least a portion of the thirdlength of conductor is wound about the second narrow region of thedielectric medium to form a second bottom coil; a fourth length ofconductor, wherein at least a portion of the fourth length of conductoris wound about the at least a portion of the third length of conductorthat is wound about the second narrow region of the dielectric medium toform a second top coil, wherein the second top coil is wound about thesecond bottom coil to form a second top-bottom coil pair; a thirdcapacitor and a fourth capacitor. The second narrow region mayinterrupted by a second coiling tab that divides the second narrowregion into a second leftmost section and a second rightmost section;the third length of conductor may be wound about both the secondleftmost section and the second rightmost section in the first coilingdirection, such that the second bottom coil is wound entirely in thefirst coiling direction about the second narrow region; the fourthlength of conductor may be wound about the second leftmost section inthe first coiling direction such that a first section of the second topcoil is wound in the first coiling direction on top of the second bottomcoil; the fourth length of conductor may be wound at least partiallyaround the second coiling tab; and the fourth length of conductor may bewound about the second rightmost section in the second coiling directionthat is opposite to the first coiling direction, such that a secondsection of the second top coil is wound in the second coiling directionon top of the second bottom coil.

The third capacitor may be at least partially received in the thirdthrough-hole of the second wide region and the fourth capacitor may beat least partially received in the fourth through-hole of the secondwide region, and may further include an electrical connection between afirst end of the third capacitor and the third signal conductive traceand an electrical connection between a second end of the third capacitorand the second ground conductive trace, thereby providing a capacitivecoupling between the third signal conductive trace and the second groundconductive trace; and an electrical connection between a first end ofthe fourth capacitor and the fourth signal conductive trace and anelectrical connection between a second end of the fourth capacitor andthe second ground conductive trace, thereby providing a capacitivecoupling between the fourth signal conductive trace and the secondground conductive trace.

The electrical filter device may further include a first dampingresistor electrically coupled to both the first signal conductive traceand the second signal conductive trace; and a second damping resistorelectrically coupled to both the third signal conductive trace and thefourth signal conductive trace.

The enclosure may include a first hole and a second hole that eachconnect the inner volume of the enclosure to the exterior thereof, andwherein the dielectric substrate may be positioned inside the enclosuresuch that the first wide region aligns with the first hole in theenclosure and the second wide region aligns with the second hole in theenclosure, and may further include a first piece of solder that sealsthe first hole in the enclosure and that provides an electricalconnection between the first ground conductive trace and the enclosureand a second piece of solder that seals the second hole in the enclosureand that provides an electrical connection between the second groundconductive trace and the enclosure.

The electrical filter device may further include an epoxy mixture thatincludes an epoxy and a metal powder that is predominatelynon-superconducting and substantially non-magnetic, wherein at least aportion of the inner volume of the enclosure is filled with the epoxymixture such that at least a portion of the second top-bottom coil pairis embedded in the epoxy mixture.

The electrical filter device may further include an electricalconnection between the third length of conductor and the first length ofconductor; an electrical connection between the third length ofconductor and the third signal conductive trace; an electricalconnection between the fourth length of conductor and the second lengthof conductor; and an electrical connection between the fourth length ofconductor and the fourth signal conductive trace.

The electrical filter device of may further include an electricalconnection between the third length of conductor and the first outputconductive trace; and an electrical connection between the fourth lengthof conductor and the second output conductive trace. At least one of thefirst, the second, the third and the fourth lengths of conductors may bea conductive wire includes a material that is superconducting below acritical temperature. At least one of the conductive traces may includea material that is superconducting below a critical temperature.

The electrical filter device may further include an electricalconnection between the third length of conductor and the second lengthof conductor; an electrical connection between the third length ofconductor and the third signal conductive trace; an electricalconnection between the fourth length of conductor and the first lengthof conductor; and an electrical connection between the fourth length ofconductor and the fourth signal conductive trace.

The electrical filter device may further include an electricalconnection between the third length of conductor and the first outputconductive trace; and an electrical connection between the fourth lengthof conductor and the second output conductive trace. At least one of thefirst, the second, the third and the fourth lengths of conductor may bea conductive wire including a material that is superconducting below acritical temperature. At least one of the conductive traces may includea material that is superconducting below a critical temperature.

The dielectric substrate may further have a plurality of additional wideregions, each having a respective pair of through-holes and a pluralityof additional narrow regions, the additional wide regions and theadditional narrow regions alternatively positioned along a longitudinallength of the dielectric substrate between the input end and the outputend, the electrical filter device may further include a plurality ofadditional signal conductive traces carried in pairs at respective onesof the additional wide regions by the signal surface of the dielectricsubstrate; a plurality of ground conductive traces each carried at arespective one of the additional wide regions of the ground surface ofthe dielectric substrate, such that each pair of the additional signalconductive traces is electrically insulated from a respective one of theadditional ground conductive traces; a first set of additional lengthsof conductor, wherein at least a portion of each of the additionallengths of conductor in the first set of additional lengths of conductoris wound about a respective one of the additional narrow regions of thedielectric medium to form a respective additional bottom coil; a secondset of additional lengths of conductor, wherein at least a portion ofeach of the additional lengths of conductor in the second set ofadditional lengths of conductor is wound about a respective at least aportion of each of the additional lengths of conductor in the first setof additional lengths of conductor that is wound about a respective oneof the additional narrow regions of the dielectric medium to form arespective additional top coil, wherein the each additional top coil iswound about a respective additional bottom coil to form a respectiveadditional top-bottom coil pair; and a plurality of additionalcapacitors. Each additional narrow region may be interrupted by arespective additional coiling tab that divides each additional narrowregion into a respective additional leftmost section and a respectiveadditional rightmost section; each additional length of conductor in thefirst set of additional lengths of conductor may be wound about eachadditional leftmost section and each additional rightmost section in thefirst coiling direction, such that each additional bottom coil is woundentirely in the first coiling direction about each additional narrowregion; each additional length of conductor in the second set ofadditional lengths of conductor may be wound about each additionalleftmost section in the first coiling direction such that a firstsection of each additional top coil is wound in the first coilingdirection on top of a respective additional bottom coil; each additionallength of conductor in the second set of additional lengths of conductormay be wound at least partially around each additional coiling tab; andeach additional length of conductor in the second set of additionallengths of conductor may be wound about each additional rightmostsection in the second coiling direction that is opposite to the firstcoiling direction, such that a second section of each additional topcoil is wound in the second coiling direction about a respectiveadditional bottom coil.

Respective ones of each of the additional capacitors may be at leastpartially received in respective ones of the additional through-holes,and may further include a plurality of electrical connections, arespective one of the electrical connections between a first end of eachof the additional capacitors and a respective one of the additionalsignal conductive traces; a plurality of electrical connections, arespective one of the electrical connections between a second end ofeach additional capacitor and an additional ground conductive trace, tocapacitively couple each respective one of the additional signalconductive traces to an additional ground conductive trace.

The electrical filter device may further include a first dampingresistor that is electrically coupled to both the first signalconductive trace and the second signal conductive trace; a seconddamping resistor that is electrically coupled to both the third signalconductive trace and the fourth signal conductive trace; and a pluralityof additional damping resistors, wherein the two additional signalconductive traces that form a pair carried by each additional wideregion are electrically connected together through a respectiveadditional damping resistor.

The enclosure may include a first hole, a second hole and a plurality ofadditional holes that connect the inner volume of the enclosure to theexterior thereof and the dielectric substrate may be positioned insidethe enclosure such that the first wide region aligns with the firsthole, the second wide region aligns with the second hole and each of theadditional wide regions aligns with at least a respective one of theadditional holes in the enclosure, and may further include first pieceof solder that seals the first hole in the enclosure and that providesan electrical connection between the first ground conductive trace andthe enclosure and a second piece of solder that seals the second hole inthe enclosure and that provides an electrical connection between thesecond ground conductive trace and the enclosure, and a plurality ofadditional pieces of solder that each seal a respective one of theadditional holes in the enclosure and that each provide an electricalconnection between respective ones of each of the additional groundconductive traces and the enclosure.

The electrical filter device may further include an epoxy mixture thatincludes an epoxy and a metal powder that is predominatelynon-superconducting and substantially non-magnetic, wherein at least aportion of the inner volume of the enclosure is filled with the epoxymixture such that at least a portion of at least one additionaltop-bottom coil pair is embedded in the epoxy mixture. Each of theadditional lengths of conductor in the first set of additional lengthsof conductor may be electrically connected in series with one anotherand at least one of the additional lengths of conductor in the first setof additional lengths of conductor may be electrically connected inseries with the third length of conductor, and each of the additionallengths of conductor in the second set of additional lengths ofconductor may be electrically connected in series with one another andat least one of the additional lengths of conductor in the second set ofadditional lengths of conductor may be electrically connected in serieswith the fourth length of conductor, and may further include arespective electrical connection between each of the additional lengthsof conductor in the first set of additional lengths of conductor and arespective one of the additional signal conductive traces; and arespective electrical connection between each of the additional lengthsof conductor in the second set of additional lengths of conductor and arespective one of the additional signal conductive traces. The firstlength of conductor, the third length of conductor, and each of theadditional lengths of conductor in the first set of additional lengthsof conductor may form respective lengths of a first continuousconductive wire, and the second length of conductor, the fourth lengthof conductor, and each of the additional lengths of conductor in thesecond set of additional lengths of conductor may form respectivelengths of a second continuous conductive wire. The first length ofconductor, the fourth length of conductor, and each of the additionallengths of conductor in the first set of additional lengths of conductormay form respective lengths of a first continuous conductive wire, andthe second length of conductor, the third length of conductor, and eachof the additional lengths of conductor in the second set of additionallengths of conductor may form respective lengths of a second continuousconductive wire.

The electrical filter device may further include an electricalconnection between at least one of the additional lengths of conductorin the first set of additional lengths of conductor and the first outputconductive traces; and an electrical connection between at least one ofthe additional lengths of conductor in the second set of additionallengths of conductor and the second output conductive traces. At leastone of the additional lengths of conductors may be a conductive wirethat includes a material that is superconducting below a criticaltemperature. At least one of the conductive traces may include amaterial that is superconducting below a critical temperature. At leastone of the lengths of conductors may be a conductive wire that includesa material that is superconducting below a critical temperature. Atleast one of the conductive traces may include a material that issuperconducting below a critical temperature. At least one of the inputconnector and the output connector may be selected from the groupconsisting of: a coaxial cable, a coaxial connector, an ultra-miniaturecoaxial cable, an ultra-miniature coaxial cable connector, a singleconductor wire, a conductive pin, a solder connection, a spring contact,and an SMA connector.

At least one embodiment may be summarized as an electrical filter devicefor use with differential signals, the electrical filter deviceincluding a first signal path, wherein the first signal path includes afirst coil of conductive wire that is wound in a first coilingdirection; a first capacitor that capacitively couples the first signalpath to ground; a second signal path, wherein the second signal pathincludes a second coil of conductive wire that is wound about the firstcoil of conductive wire to form a first top-bottom coil pair, whereinthe second coil includes a leftmost section and a rightmost section andthe leftmost section is wound in the first coiling direction and therightmost section is wound in a second coiling direction that isopposite to the first coiling direction: a second capacitor thatcapacitively couples the second signal path to ground; and means forchanging the coiling direction of the second coil of conductive wire inbetween the leftmost section and the rightmost section.

The electrical filter device may further include a dielectric substrate,wherein the first coil of conductive wire is wound about a first narrowregion of the dielectric substrate, and wherein the first capacitor andthe second capacitor are each at least partially received in arespective through-hole in the dielectric substrate. The means forchanging the coiling direction of the second coil of conductive wire mayinclude a protrusion of the dielectric substrate. The dielectricsubstrate may carry a plurality of conductive traces such that both thefirst signal path and the second signal path each include at least oneconductive trace.

The electrical filter device may further include a first dampingresistor that is electrically connected in between the first and secondcapacitors.

The electrical filter device may further include an enclosure formed bya substantially non-magnetic material, wherein the dielectric substrate,the first top-bottom coil pair, and the first and the second capacitorsare all positioned within the enclosure. The enclosure may be at leastpartially filled with an epoxy mixture that includes an epoxy and ametal powder that is predominately non-superconducting and substantiallynon-magnetic.

The first signal path may further include a third coil of conductivewire that is wound in a first coiling direction about a second narrowregion of the dielectric substrate; a third capacitor that capacitivelycouples the first signal path to ground, the third capacitor at leastpartially received in a respective through-hole in the dielectricsubstrate; the second signal path may further include a fourth coil ofconductive wire that is wound about the third coil of conductive wire toform a second top-bottom coil pair, wherein the fourth coil includes aleftmost section and a rightmost section and the leftmost section iswound in the first coiling direction and the rightmost section is woundin a second coiling direction that is opposite to the first coilingdirection: a fourth capacitor that may capacitively couple the secondsignal path to ground; and means for changing the coiling direction ofthe fourth coil of conductive wire in between the leftmost section andthe rightmost section. The means for changing the coiling direction ofthe fourth coil of conductive wire may include a protrusion of thedielectric substrate.

The electrical filter device may further include a second dampingresistor that is electrically connected in between the third and thefourth capacitors.

The electrical filter device may further include an enclosure formed bya substantially non-magnetic material, wherein the dielectric substrate,the first top-bottom coil pair, the second-top-bottom coil pair, and thefirst, the second, the third and the fourth capacitors are allpositioned within the enclosure. The enclosure may be at least partiallyfilled with an epoxy mixture that includes an epoxy and a metal powderthat is predominately non-superconducting and substantiallynon-magnetic.

At least one embodiment may be summarized as an input/output system foruse with a superconducting device sample, the input/output systemincluding a first tier including a first set of electrical filterstructures, wherein each of the electrical filter structures in thefirst set of electrical filter structures comprises a respective lumpedelement filter that is at least partially contained within a respectiveenclosure, and wherein each of the electrical filter structures in thefirst set of electrical filter structures has an input end and an outputend; a first set of electrical signal paths, each of the electricalsignal paths in the first set of electrical signal paths including afilter input portion, a filter portion, and a filter output portion,wherein the filter input portion of each respective one of theelectrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signal pathscommunicably couples to the input end of a respective one of theelectrical filter structures from the first set of electrical filterstructures, the filter portion of each respective one of the electricalsignal paths in the first set of electrical signal paths includes atleast a portion of the lumped element filter of a respective one of theelectrical filter structures from the first set of electrical filterstructures, and the filter output portion of each respective one of theelectrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signal pathscommunicably couples to the output end of a respective one of theelectrical filter structures from the first set of electrical filterstructures, wherein at least a portion of each one of the electricalsignal paths in the first set of electrical signal paths issuperconducting and each one of the electrical signal paths in the firstset of electrical signal paths provides electrical communication with atleast a portion of the superconducting device sample; a first compositeplate structure having a first top plate and a first bottom plate,wherein the first top plate and the first bottom plate mate to form afirst inner volume therebetween on a first side of the first top plate,and wherein each of the electrical filter structures in the first set ofelectrical filter structures is carried by a second side of the firsttop plate that is opposite the first side of the first top plate suchthat the filter output portion of at least one of the electrical signalpaths from the first set of electrical signal paths extends from thesecond side of the first top plate, through the first top plate, andinto the first inner volume; a pedestal mounted to the first side of thefirst top plate inside the first inner volume; and a device sampleholder assembly selectively mountable to and dismountable from thepedestal inside the first inner volume, wherein the device sample holderassembly includes at least one printed circuit board, at least a portionof the device sample holder assembly superconductingly electricallycouples to at least one of the electrical signal paths from the firstset of electrical signal paths, and at least a portion of the devicesample holder assembly superconductingly electrically couples to thesuperconducting device sample.

The enclosure of at least one of the electrical filter structures may beat least partially filled with a mixture of metal powder and epoxy. Themetal powder may include at least one of brass powder and copper powder.

The input/output system may further include a mounting plate formounting to a refrigeration system. The respective enclosure of each ofthe electrical filter structures in the first set of electrical filterstructures and the first composite plate structure may all be formed ofmaterial that is substantially non-magnetic and predominatelynon-superconducting. At least one of the electrical signal paths in thefirst set of electrical signal paths may be configured to carrydifferential signals. At least a portion of the filter input portion ofat least one of the electrical signal paths in the first set ofelectrical signal paths may include a shielded twisted pair cable, andat least a portion of the filter output portion of at least one of theelectrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signal paths mayinclude a shielded twisted pair cable.

The input/output system may further include a second tier including asecond set of electrical filter structures, wherein each of theelectrical filter structures in the second set of electrical filterstructures comprises a respective lumped element filter that is at leastpartially contained within a respective enclosure, and wherein each ofthe electrical filter structures in the second set of electrical filterstructures has an input end and an output end; a second set ofelectrical signal paths, each of the electrical signal paths in thesecond set of electrical signal paths including a filter input portion,a filter portion, and a filter output portion, wherein the filter inputportion of each respective one of the electrical signal paths in thesecond set of electrical signal paths communicably couples to the inputend of a respective one of the electrical filter structures from thesecond set of electrical filter structures, the filter portion of eachrespective one of the electrical signal paths in the second set ofelectrical signal paths includes at least a portion of the lumpedelement filter of a respective one of the electrical filter structuresfrom the second set of electrical filter structures, and the filteroutput portion of each respective one of the electrical signal paths inthe second set of electrical signal paths communicably couples to theoutput end of a respective one of the electrical filter structures fromthe second set of electrical filter structures, wherein at least aportion of each of the electrical signal paths in the second set ofelectrical signal paths is superconducting and each of the electricalsignal paths in the second set of electrical signal paths provideselectrical communication with at least a portion of the superconductingdevice sample; a second composite plate structure having a second topplate and a second bottom plate, wherein the second top plate and thesecond bottom plate mate to form a second inner volume therebetween on afirst side of the second top plate, and wherein each of the electricalfilter structures in the second set of electrical filter structures iscarried by a second side of the second top plate that is opposite thefirst side of the second top plate such that the filter output portionof at least one of the electrical signal paths from the second set ofelectrical signal paths extends from the second side of the second topplate, through the second top plate, and into the second inner volume;wherein the first inner volume and the second inner volume both formrespective parts of a shielded enclosure that contains the pedestal anddevice sample holder assembly.

The enclosure of at least one of the electrical filter structures may beat least partially filled with a mixture of metal powder and epoxy. Themetal powder may include at least one of brass powder and copper powder.The respective enclosure of each of the electrical filter structures inthe second set of electrical filter structures and the second compositeplate structure may all be formed of material that is substantiallynon-magnetic and predominately non-superconducting.

The input/output system may further include a hollow conduit thatextends between the first inner volume and the second inner volume andprovides a shielded channel through which at least a portion of at leastone electrical signal path from at least one of the first set ofelectrical signal paths and the second set of electrical signal pathsmay pass between the first inner volume and the second inner volume.

A first end of the first tier may be positioned adjacent to the firsttop plate of the first composite plate structure and a second end of thefirst tier may be positioned adjacent to the second bottom plate of thesecond composite plate structure, and the second top plate of the secondcomposite plate structure may be positioned adjacent to the second tier,and the hollow conduit may extend through the first tier and theshielded channel may extend between the first inner volume within thefirst composite plate structure and the second inner volume within thesecond composite plate structure. At least a portion of the filteroutput portion of at least one of the electrical signal paths from thesecond set of electrical signal paths may enter the second inner volumein the second composite plate structure from the output end of arespective one of the electrical filter structures from the second setof electrical filter structures that is mounted on the second side ofthe second top plate, and the at least a portion of the filter outputportion of the at least one electrical signal path may extend throughthe shielded channel of the hollow conduit into the first inner volumein the first composite plate structure where the at least a portion ofthe filter output portion of the at least one electrical signal path issuperconductingly electrically coupled to at least a portion of thedevice sample holder assembly. The hollow conduit may be formed of amaterial that is substantially non-magnetic and predominatelynon-superconducting. At least one of the electrical signal paths in thefirst set of electrical signal paths may be configured to carrydifferential signals. At least a portion of the filter input portion ofat least one of the electrical signal paths in the first set ofelectrical signal paths may include a shielded twisted pair cable, andat least a portion of the filter output portion of at least one of theelectrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signal paths mayinclude a shielded twisted pair cable. The superconducting device samplemay include a superconducting processor. The superconducting processormay include a superconducting quantum processor.

At least one embodiment may be summarized as a feed-through structure toreceive flexible printed circuit board cable, including a plate having afirst surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, whereinthe first surface of the plate includes at least one elongatedthrough-hole sized and dimensioned to receive a flexible printed circuitboard cable, and wherein the at least one elongated through-hole extendsthrough the second surface of the plate; wherein the feed-throughstructure includes a cavity adjacent to the second surface of the platesuch that the at least one elongated through-hole extends through theplate and into the cavity, and wherein the cavity includes an open endto receive a sealing agent to establish a substantially hermetic seal inthe at least one elongated through-hole.

The plate may further comprise at least one additional elongatedthrough-hole, wherein each of the at least one additional elongatedthrough-holes is sized and dimensioned to receive a respective flexibleprinted circuit board cable. Each of the elongated through-holes mayextend through the plate and into the cavity. The cavity may be formedin a volume of the plate and the open end of the cavity may extendthrough the second surface of the plate. The feed-through structure mayfurther comprise a flange that includes a through-hole, wherein theplate is mated with the flange such that the plate covers a first end ofthe through-hole and the cavity is formed by the through-hole in theflange. The feed-through structure may further comprise a hollow vacuumbox, wherein a surface of the vacuum box includes an opening and theflange is mounted in the opening such that the at least one elongatedthrough-hole in the plate opens through the cavity into the vacuum box.

At least one embodiment may be summarized as a system to provideelectrical communication between a first environment at a first pressureand a second environment at a second pressure, wherein the secondpressure is substantially different from the first pressure, the systemincluding a first flexible printed circuit board cable; and a firstfeed-through structure having a first side and a second side, the firstfeed-through structure comprising: a plate having a first surface and asecond surface opposite the first surface, wherein the first surface ofthe plate includes a first elongated through-hole that extends throughthe second surface of the plate, and wherein the first surface of theplate corresponds to the first side of the first feed-through structure;wherein the first feed-through structure includes a cavity adjacent tothe second surface of the plate such that the first elongatedthrough-hole extends through the plate and into the cavity, and whereinthe cavity includes an open end that corresponds to the second side ofthe first feed-through structure; and wherein a portion of the firstflexible printed circuit board cable is received through the firstelongated through-hole such that the first flexible printed circuitboard cable passes through the first elongated through-hole and extendsinto the cavity, and wherein the cavity is potted with a sealing agentto establish a substantially hermetic seal between the first and secondsides of the first feed-through structure.

The system of may further include a second flexible printed circuitboard cable, wherein the first surface of the plate includes a secondelongated through-hole that extends through the second surface of theplate and into the cavity, and wherein a portion of the second flexibleprinted circuit board cable is received through the second elongatedthrough-hole such that the second flexible printed circuit board cablepasses through the second elongated through-hole and extends into thecavity. The system may further include at least one additional flexibleprinted circuit board cable, wherein the first surface of the plateincludes at least one additional elongated through-hole that extendsthrough the second surface of the plate and into the cavity, and whereineach flexible printed circuit board cable is received through arespective elongated through-hole such that each flexible printedcircuit board cable passes through a respective elongated through-holeand extends into the cavity. The cavity may be formed in a volume of theplate and the open end of the cavity extends through the second surfaceof the plate. A segment of the first flexible printed circuit boardcable may extend out the open end of the cavity on the second side ofthe first feed-through structure, and an electrical connection may beestablished between the segment and at least one conductive currentpath. The at least one conductive current path may be superconductivebelow a critical temperature. The at least one conductive current pathmay be carried by an additional flexible printed circuit board cable.The electrical connection may be established between the first flexibleprinted circuit board cable and the additional flexible printed circuitboard cable. The sealing agent may include an epoxy mixture. The epoxymixture may include a mixture of metal powder and epoxy. The firstelongated through-hole may have a cross-sectional area that is largerthan a cross-sectional area of the first flexible printed circuit boardcable such that a gap exists between a perimeter of the first elongatedthrough-hole and a surface of the first flexible printed circuit board,and wherein the gap is sealed with a sealing agent. The firstfeed-through structure may comprise a flange that includes athrough-hole, and wherein the plate is mated with the flange such thatthe plate covers a first end of the through-hole and the cavity isformed by the through-hole in the flange. The system of may furthercomprise a hollow vacuum box, wherein a surface of the vacuum boxincludes a first opening and the flange of the first feed-throughstructure is mounted in the first opening such that the at least oneelongated through-hole in the plate opens through the cavity into thevacuum box. The first side of the first feed-through structure may beoutside of the vacuum box, and the first flexible printed circuit boardcable may extend into the vacuum box. The system may further comprise asecond feed-through structure having a first side and a second side, thesecond feed-through structure comprising: a plate having a first surfaceand a second surface opposite the first surface, wherein the firstsurface of the plate includes a first elongated through-hole thatextends through the second surface of the plate, and wherein the firstsurface of the plate corresponds to the first side of the secondfeed-through structure; a flange that includes a through-hole, whereinthe plate is mated with the flange such that the plate covers a firstend of the through-hole and a cavity is formed by the through-hole inthe flange, wherein the cavity is adjacent to the second surface of theplate such that the first elongated through-hole extends through theplate and into the cavity; wherein a portion of the first flexibleprinted circuit board cable is received through the first elongatedthrough-hole such that the first flexible printed circuit board cablepasses through the first elongated through-hole and extends into thecavity, and wherein the cavity is potted with a sealing agent toestablish a substantially hermetic seal between the first and secondsides of the second feed-through structure; and wherein a surface of thevacuum box includes a second opening and the flange of the secondfeed-through structure is mounted in the second opening such that the atleast one elongated through-hole in the plate opens through the cavityinto the vacuum box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures, identical reference numbers identify similar elements oracts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the figures arenot necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of variouselements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elementsare arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve legibility. Further,the particular shapes of the elements as drawn are not intended toconvey any information regarding the actual shape of the particularelements and have been solely selected for ease of recognition in thefigures. Furthermore, while the figures may show specific layouts, oneskilled in the art will appreciate that variations in design, layout,and fabrication are possible and the shown layouts are not to beconstrued as limiting the geometry of the present systems, devices, andmethods.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a typical conventional passive low-passlumped element filter for use with a single-ended signal.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a passive low-passlumped element filter for use in jointly filtering the two signal pathsof a differential signal, in accordance with the present systems methodsand apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a differentialfilter for jointly filtering the two signal paths of a differentialsignal, in accordance with the present systems, methods and apparatus.

FIG. 4A is a top plan view of an embodiment of a printed circuit boardfor use in a differential tubular filter structure, showing a firstsurface upon which at least a respective portion of each of the twosignal paths is carried.

FIG. 4B is a bottom plan view of the printed circuit board from FIG. 4A,showing a second surface upon which at least a portion of the groundpath is carried.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an embodiment of a filtering devicecomprising a printed circuit board with lumped elements, for use in atubular filter structure.

FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a portion an embodiment of a filteringdevice comprising a printed circuit board with lumped elements, for usein a tubular filter structure.

FIG. 6B is another top plan view of a portion an embodiment of afiltering device comprising a printed circuit board with lumpedelements, showing the effect of removing wire cross-over point.

FIG. 7A is a top plan view of a portion of an embodiment of a filteringdevice 700 comprising a printed circuit board with lumped elements,highlighting the use of coiling tabs with a first signal path.

FIG. 7B is a top plan view of a portion of an embodiment of a filteringdevice comprising a printed circuit board with lumped elements,highlighting the use of coiling tabs with a second signal path.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an embodiment of a tubular filter structure.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a portion of an embodiment of a tubularfilter structure, showing the alignment of the filtering device withinthe cylindrical body.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the alignment of a filteringdevice inside a cylindrical body.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an input/output (I/O) system foruse with a superconducting device in a refrigerated environmentaccording to one illustrative embodiment, including a set of roomtemperature electronics, vacuum connector box, 4K connection box,tubular filter structures, pedestal, and device sample holder assembly,where wiring passes between the various components and connectors of thesystem and thermalizing clamps may be included between various stages.

FIG. 12A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a portion of a supportstructure for an I/O system.

FIG. 12B is an isometric view of an embodiment of the portion of the I/Osupport structure from FIG. 12A, including a first bundle of tubularfilter structures mounted in a first tier and a second bundle of tubularfilter structures mounted in a second tier.

FIG. 12C is an isometric view of an embodiment a portion of the I/Osupport structure from FIG. 12A, where both the first tier and thesecond tier include multiple bundles of tubular filter structures.

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a bundle of individualtubular filter structures.

FIG. 14A shows a top plan view of an embodiment of a mounting puck foruse in mounting a bundle of tubular filter structures.

FIG. 14B shows a bottom plan view of an embodiment of a mounting puckfor use in mounting a bundle of tubular filter structures.

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of an embodiment of a top plate of a middlecomposite plate structure from FIGS. 12A-12C.

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of an embodiment of a top plate of a bottomcomposite plate structure from FIGS. 12A-12C.

FIG. 17A is a cross-sectional view of the I/O support structure fromFIG. 12C.

FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view of the I/O support structure fromFIG. 12C, showing exemplary signal lines.

FIG. 18 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a portion of an I/Osystem including a pedestal and a device sample holder assembly.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a portion of anI/O system showing exemplary signal lines.

FIG. 20 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a device sample holderassembly carried by a pedestal.

FIG. 21 is an isometric view of another embodiment of a device sampleholder assembly carried by a pedestal.

FIG. 22 is a sectional diagram of a device sample holder assembly foraccommodating a single device sample.

FIG. 23A is a bottom plan view of a hermetically sealed D-Sub connectoraccording to the known art.

FIG. 23B is a side elevational view of the hermetically sealed D-Subconnector from FIG. 23A, showing the D-Sub receptacle connecting throughthe flange to the D-Sub plug according to the known art.

FIG. 24A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a plate for use in ahermetically sealed electrical feed-through structure.

FIG. 24B is an isometric view of an embodiment of a flange for use in ahermetically sealed electrical feed-through structure.

FIG. 25A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure.

FIG. 25B is an isometric view of an embodiment of the hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure from FIG. 25A, showing acavity in the underside of the flange.

FIG. 26A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure showing a flexible printedcircuit board cable received by an elongated through-hole.

FIG. 26B is an isometric view of an embodiment of the hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure from FIG. 26A, showing aflexible printed circuit board cable extending through the cavity in theflange.

FIG. 27 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermetically sealableelectrical feed-through structure showing a plurality of flexibleprinted circuit board cables each received by a respective elongatedthrough-hole.

FIG. 28 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermetically sealedelectrical feed-through structure for providing electrical communicationbetween two environments that are at substantially different pressures.

FIG. 29 is an isometric view of the hermetically sealed electricalfeed-through structure from FIG. 28, showing a cavity potted with anepoxy.

FIG. 30 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermetically sealedelectrical communication interface comprising a plurality ofhermetically sealed electrical feed-through structures all mounted to avacuum box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, some specific details are included toprovide a thorough understanding of various disclosed embodiments. Oneskilled in the relevant art, however, will recognize that embodimentsmay be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or withother methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances,well-known structures associated with electrical filters, printedcircuit boards, and/or superconducting processors, such assuperconducting devices, coupling devices, and control systems includingmicroprocessors and drive circuitry have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodimentsof the systems, devices, and methods.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, suchas, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open,inclusive sense, that is as “including, but not limited to.”

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” or “anembodiment,” or “another embodiment” means that a particular referentfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearancesof the phrases “in one embodiment,” or “in an embodiment,” or “anotherembodiment” in various places throughout this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

It should be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to a problem-solving system including “a quantum processor”includes a single quantum processor, or two or more quantum processors.It should also be noted that the term “or” is generally employed in itssense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notinterpret the scope or meaning of the embodiments.

The present systems, methods and apparatus describe techniques for thefiltering of differential electrical signals. Specifically, thetechniques described herein implement passive electrical filters basedon tubular filter geometries. Many different devices exist for thepurpose of passive electrical signal filtering. These devices includefilters that implement lumped elements such as inductors and capacitors(lumped element filters, or LEFs) and metal powder filters (MPFs).Various embodiments described herein provide passive electrical filterdevices that combine lumped element filtering and metal powder filteringinto one tubular filter geometry that is adapted for use withdifferential signaling.

As previously described, differential signaling involves using twosignal paths (e.g., wires) to transmit one signal, where a first signalpath carries a first signal and a second signal path carries a secondsignal that is substantially complementary (i.e., substantially equaland opposite) to the first signal. According to this scheme, the signalthat is ultimately received and utilized by a receiving circuit orreceiving device is the difference between the first signal and thesecond signal. Differential signaling is robust against noise picked upduring transmission, since such noise is typically picked up by both thefirst and second signal paths and cancelled out in the receiving circuitor receiving device. Furthermore, differential signaling is well-suitedfor low-power applications, since the signal that is ultimately utilizedby a receiving circuit or receiving device (i.e., the difference betweenthe first signal and the complementary second signal) has a magnitudethat is twice that of either of the transmitted signals, therebyincreasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the utilized signal.

A known disadvantage to differential signaling is that it necessitatesapproximately twice as many signal paths (e.g., wires) compared to asimilar application of single-ended signaling. Thus, in the filtering ofdifferential signals, it is typically necessary to implementapproximately twice as many filtering devices compared to what would beneeded if single-ended signaling were used. As is typically seen in theart, this can result in an overly complicated wiring system with manydevices and in an inefficient use of space. In some applicationsimplementing differential signaling, efficient use of space is animportant factor. For instance, in an application of superconductingdifferential signaling, at least a portion of the electronics may beconfined within the dimensions of a refrigeration system, and as moreand more wires are needed it can be advantageous to reduce the size andcomplexity of the filtering structures. Thus, there is a need in the artfor passive differential signal filtering devices that may be readilymanufactured or assembled within a compact volume, while still providingthe desired performance and range of frequency response for a widevariety of applications. Accordingly, various embodiments describedherein provide individual tubular filter structures that each jointlyfilter the two signal paths of a differential signal. In someembodiments, high performance filtering is achieved through both lumpedelement filtering and metal powder filtering within a single tubularfilter device.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that some or all of thevarious concepts taught in the present systems, methods and apparatusmay be applied in designs of low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, andband-stop applications. Throughout the remainder of this specification,specific structures relating to passive low-pass filters are described;however, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the conceptstaught herein may be adapted to meet other filtering requirements, suchas high-pass, band-pass, and band-stop filtering.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a typical conventional passive low-passlumped element filter (LEF) 100 for use with a single-ended signal. LEF100 includes an inductor 111 that is serially coupled within the signalpath represented by arrow 101 (i.e., in series with a load 163) and acapacitor 121 that couples the signal path 101 to ground (i.e., inparallel with the load 163). An impedance of inductor 111 naturallyincreases as the frequency of the signal passing through it increases.This means that inductor 111 allows low-frequency signals to passthrough but naturally blocks high-frequency signals from propagatingalong the signal path 101. Conversely, an impedance of capacitor 121naturally decreases as the frequency of the signal passing through itincreases. This means that capacitor 121 couples high-frequency signalsdirectly to ground and naturally forces low-frequency signals topropagate along the signal path 101. Thus, LEF 100 has two mechanisms bywhich high-frequency components are filtered out of the electricalsignal: inductor 111 blocks the flow of some high-frequency componentsbut permits low-frequency components to pass through, and capacitor 121provides a short to ground for some high-frequency components of thesignal but forces low-frequency components to carry-on along the signalpath 101 towards the load 163.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the term “signalpath” is used to describe a conductive, superconductive, and/orsemi-conductive conduit through or upon which an electrical signal maybe propagated. In the illustrated embodiments, such paths are realizedby conductive wires and/or conductive traces on printed circuit boards(PCBs). However, as previously described a typical electrical signal maycomprise multiple signal frequencies or components and, duringfiltering, various frequencies or components may follow different signalpaths. An electrical filter may be designed such that the signalfrequency-range of interest propagates through the filter whilesubstantially all undesirable frequencies are, ideally, filtered out.Thus, the term “signal path” is used herein to describe the routetraveled by the particular electrical signal for which filtering isdesired as the electrical signal passes through an electrical filter.

The present systems, methods and apparatus describe embodiments ofelectrical filter structures, where each structure may be used tojointly filter the two signal paths of a differential signal. Aspreviously discussed, differential signaling typically involvesimplementing two signal paths (e.g., wires) per signal, which typicallynecessitates two separate filtering devices per signal. Variousembodiments described herein provide systems, methods and apparatus forjointly filtering the two signal paths of a differential signal withinone tubular filter structure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a passive low-passlumped element filter (LEF) 200 for use in jointly filtering the twosignal paths of a differential signal, in accordance with the presentsystems, methods and apparatus. LEF 200 includes two signal pathsrepresented by arrows 201 a, 201 b for use in transmitting adifferential signal. Each of signal paths 201 a, 201 b includes at leastone inductor 211 a, 211 b, respectively, that is electrically coupled inseries with a load 263. Each of signal paths 201 a and 201 b is alsocoupled to a shared ground by at least one capacitor 221 a and 221 b,respectively. Thus, each of signal paths 201 a and 201 b includes arespective portion delimitated by broken line boxes 230 a, 230 b, whereboth portions 230 a and 230 b capacitively couple to the same ground.LEF 200 accomplishes filtering jointly for two signal paths 201 a, 201b. In some embodiments, LEF 200 may also include a damping resistor 251that is electrically coupled in parallel with the load 263 in betweensignal paths 201 a and 201 b. A filter for which the source impedanceand the filter/load impedance are unmatched may produce an unwantedspike in its passband. Damping resistor 251 may be included to betteralign the source impedance and the load/filter impedance (if they areunequal) in LEF 200. Damping resistor 251 also helps to reduce the spike(e.g., dissipate tank resonance) in the passband that may be present ifthe impedance is otherwise unmatched. LEF 200 also includes portiondelimitated by broken line box 240, where each of signal paths 201 a and201 b includes at least one additional inductor 212 a and 212 b,respectively. Thus, LEF 200 uses passive low-pass filter principles tojointly filter undesired frequencies out of two signal paths 201 a, 201b, while some embodiments also incorporate a damping resistor 251 toflatten out the spike in the passband that may be produced if the sourceimpedance and the load/filter impedance are unmatched.

Rather than using two single-ended filter structures to eachindividually filter a respective one of the two signal paths of adifferential signal, various embodiments described herein provide asingle tubular differential filter structure for jointly filtering thetwo signal paths of a differential signal. In this way, twice as manysignal paths (e.g., wires) may be filtered, and with better performance,within any given spatial dimensions. In some embodiments, a tubulardifferential filter structure to jointly filter the two signal paths ofa differential signal may include lumped elements to provide lumpedelement filtering. In applications where it is desirable to removefrequencies in the microwave range, such a tubular differential filterstructure may include one or more structures that cause high frequencydissipation, such as a metal powder epoxy mixture to realize a metalpowder filter. The principles governing the operation of typical metalpowder filters are described in F. P. Milliken et al., 2007, Review ofScientific Instruments 78, 024701 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/016,801.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a differential filter300 for jointly filtering the two signal paths 301 a, 301 b of adifferential signal. Similar to LEF 200 from FIG. 2, each of signalpaths 301 a and 301 b includes a plurality of serially connectedinductors 311 a-318 a and 311 b-318 b, respectively, and a plurality ofcapacitive couplings to ground through capacitors 321 a-323 a and 321b-323 b, respectively. In this way, filter 300 provides lumped elementfiltering. Each of inductors 311 a-318 a and 311 b-318 b may, forexample, be formed by a respective coil(s) of conductor (e.g.,conductive wire).

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that filter 300 is amulti-stage low-pass filter, where each stage includes a respective setof inductors and capacitors. In typical single-ended low-pass filtercircuits, a first stage is formed by an inductor coupled in series inthe signal path and a capacitive coupling to ground. This definition maybe extended from single-ended signal filtering to differential signalfiltering. For example, LEF 100 from FIG. 1 is a single-stage low-passfilter for filtering single-ended signals and LEF 200 is a single-stagelow-pass filter for filtering differential signals. The performance of afilter may be adjusted by incorporating multiple such stages in series.Filter 300 is a three-stage low-pass filter for filtering differentialsignals. The first stage includes inductors 311 a, 312 a in the firstsignal path 301 a, inductors 311 b, 312 b in the second signal path 301b, and capacitors 321 a, 321 b that each capacitively couple arespective one of signal paths 301 a, 301 b to ground. In someembodiments, the first stage may also include a damping resistor 351electrically coupled between signal paths 301 a and 301 b acrosscapacitors 321 a and 321 b. In a manner similar to that described forLEF 200 from FIG. 2, a filter for which source impedance and theload/filter impedance are unmatched may produce at least one spike inits passband. In some instances, each stage in a multi-stage filter mayproduce a spike at a different frequency. Thus, some embodiments offilter 300 may include a damping resistor 351, 352, 353 coupled acrossthe capacitors (321 a and 321 b, 322 a and 322 b, 323 a and 323 b,respectively) in each stage in order to reduce the particular spike inthe passband that may be produced by each respective stage. Those ofskill in the art will appreciate that, while filter 300 includesthree-stages, a similar filter may be constructed comprising any numberof stages.

As previously described, filter 300 may be used for jointly filteringthe two signal paths 301 a, 301 b of a differential signal. Space may beconserved by coiling each inductor in one signal path (e.g., path 301 a)on top of or about (e.g., coaxially with) a respective inductor in theother signal path (e.g., path 301 b). Throughout this specification andthe appended claims, to coil a first inductor on top of a secondinductor means to wind the first or “outer” inductor over the outersurface of the second or “inner” inductor, such that the second inductorserves as a core upon or about which the first inductor is wound. Thus,the term “top coil” or “outer coil” is used to refer to the first coilthat is wound on top of or about the second coil, and the term “bottomcoil” or “inner coil” is used to refer to the second coil upon or aboutwhich the top or outer coil is wound. Together, a top or outer coil andthe bottom or inner coil upon or about which it is wound form atop-bottom or outer-inner coil pair.

In some embodiments, the two signal paths 301 a, 301 b may besubstantially symmetrical such that any two inductors that are in thesame relative position in both signal paths (i.e., any two inductorswith the same number and a different suffix in FIG. 3; for instance,inductors 311 a and 311 b, or inductors 316 a and 316 b) are positionedwith one inductor on top of or about the other to form a top-bottom coilpair. For example, inductors 311 a and 311 b may form a top-bottom coilpair. In FIG. 3, each inductor in the top row (i.e., inductors 311 a-314a to the left of region 360 and inductors 315 b-318 b to the right ofregion 360) may be coiled on top of or about its counterpart in thebottom row (i.e., inductors 311 b-314 b to the left of region 360 andinductors 315 a-318 a to the right of region 360), respectively. Forexample, inductor 312 a may be coiled on top of or about inductor 312 b,and inductor 317 b may be coiled on top of or about inductor 317 a.

In filter 300, the two signal paths 301 a, 301 b may be substantiallysymmetrical not only in their respective number and configuration oflumped elements, but also in their respective number of top or outercoils and bottom or inner coils. That is, approximately half of each ofthe inductors in signal path 301 a may be wound on top of or about arespective inductor in signal path 301 b, and approximately half of eachof the inductors in signal path 301 b may be wound on top of or about arespective inductor in signal path 301 a. The purpose of the regiondelineated by broken line box 360 in filter 300, therefore, is to switchthe relative physical positions of the two signal paths 301 a and 301 b.To the left of region 360, signal path 301 a is on top of signal path301 b and therefore each of inductors 311 a-314 a in signal path 301 amay be coiled on top of or about its respective symmetrical counterpart311 b-314 b in signal path 301 b. In region 360, the two signal paths301 a, 301 b cross and switch their relative positions. To the right ofregion 360, signal path 301 b is on top of signal path 301 a andtherefore each of inductors 315 b-318 b in signal path 301 b may becoiled on top of or about its respective symmetrical counterpart 315a-318 a in signal path 301 a.

In embodiments of the present systems, methods and apparatus thatincorporate metal powder filtering, approximately the same number of topcoils may be implemented in each signal path 301 a, 301 b in order toensure substantially similar high frequency dissipation in both signalpaths. In some embodiments, filter 300 may be potted in a mixture ofmetal powder and epoxy such that high frequency signals carried insignal paths 301 a and 301 b are at least partially dissipated by themetal powder epoxy mixture. The mechanism for this dissipation isdescribed in F. P. Milliken et al., 2007, Review of ScientificInstruments 78, 024701. In general, such high frequency dissipation isimproved by ensuring that the metal powder particles are as close aspossible to the wire of the inductors in the signal path(s). For thisreason, filter 300 uses region 360 to provide approximately the samenumber of top coils in each signal path 301 a, 301 b. For example, inembodiments where filter 300 is potted in a metal powder epoxy mixture,top coils 311 a-314 a provide a large surface area for direct contactbetween the metal powder epoxy mixture and signal path 301 a, and topcoils 315 b-318 b provide a large surface area for direct contactbetween the metal powder epoxy mixture and signal path 301 b.

In some embodiments, the metal powder epoxy mixture may include copperpowder. In some embodiments, the metal powder epoxy mixture may includebrass powder.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that any two inductorsconnected directly in series with one another, with no current branchesin between, may generally be replaced by one inductor whose inductanceis equal to the sum of the two serially connected inductors. Forexample, inductors 311 a and 312 a may, in some respects, beequivalently replaced by a single inductor whose inductance is equal tothe sum of the inductances of inductors 311 a and 312 a. However, infilter 300 each inductance is purposefully provided by twoserially-connected inductors. At least part of the reason for this isdirectly related to the implementation of top and bottom coils in filter300. Because each inductor in filter 300 is either coiled on top of orabout another inductor (i.e., a top or outer coil) or has anotherinductor coiled on top of or about it (i.e., a bottom or inner coil) themutual inductance between inductors can have a significant impact on theperformance of filter 300. In particular, the relative directions ofcurrent flow in the two inductors that form a top-bottom coil pair caninfluence the performance of filter 300. The relative directions ofcurrent flow in the two inductors that form a top-bottom coil pairdepends on the relative directions in which the top/outer coil andbottom/inner coil are respectively wound. Attenuation of common-modesignals in a top-bottom coil pair may be achieved, at least in part, bycoiling both the top coil and the bottom coil in the same direction.Alternatively, attenuation of differential-mode signals in a top-bottomcoil pair may be achieved, at least in part, by coiling the top coil andthe bottom coil in opposite directions. Thus, in filter 300 eachinductance is purposefully provided by two serially-connected inductorsso that each inductance may include a portion for which the top or outercoil and bottom or inner coil are coiled in the same direction and aportion for which the top or outer coil and the bottom or inner coil arecoiled in opposite directions. For example, inductor 311 b may be coiledin a first coiling direction and inductor 311 a may be coiled in asecond coiling direction on top of inductor 311 b to form a top-bottomcoil pair where the top or outer coil 311 a and the bottom or inner coil311 b are coiled in opposite directions to achieve differential-modesignal attenuation. Then, inductor 312 b may be coiled in a firstcoiling direction and inductor 312 a may be coiled in the same coilingdirection on top of or about inductor 312 b to form a top-bottom coilpair where the top or outer coil 312 a and the bottom or inner coil 312b are both coiled in the same direction to achieve common-mode signalattenuation. By jointly filtering the two signal paths of a differentialsignal in one filter structure, filter 300 provides a mechanism for theattenuation of unwanted signal frequencies that is not achievable byimplementing a separate and distinct filter structure for each signalpath.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, various inductorsare described as being formed of a conductive wire coiled in either afirst direction or a second direction. The coil of an inductor may bewound around a core or an axis, and the distinction between a firstcoiling direction and a second coiling direction may be understood byconsidering a cross-section of the core. Coiling in a first directionmay be understood as clockwise coiling around a cross section of thecore or about the axis, and coiling in a second direction may beunderstood as counter-clockwise coiling around the same cross section ofthe core or about the same axis.

The present systems, methods and apparatus describe embodiments of adifferential electrical filter that is tubular in geometry (hereinafterreferred to as a “differential tubular filter structure”). The filterdevice itself comprises a plurality of lumped elements (e.g., inductorsand capacitors) connected to at least one printed circuit board (PCB),while the tubular aspect relates to a cylindrical shield in which thefilter device may be enclosed. In accordance with the present systems,methods and apparatus, at least a portion of a PCB may serve as the corefor at least the bottom coils (i.e., inductors 311 b-314 b and 315 a-318a of filter 300) of an electrical filter for use in jointly filteringthe two signal paths of a differential signal. As previously discussed,bottom or inner coils may each serve as a respective core for arespective top or outer coil (e.g., inductors 311 a-314 a and 315 b-318b of filter 300). In some embodiments, the PCB may include a dielectricsubstrate, such as FR4. In some embodiments, the PCB may serve as both asignal-carrying device and as a structural device in a manner similar tothat described in US Patent Publication No. 2008-0176751. Variousembodiments described herein provide adaptations and modifications tothe teachings of US Patent Publication No. 2008-0176751 in order toachieve joint filtering of the two signal paths of a differentialsignal. For illustrative purposes, the embodiments described herein arepassive low-pass filters such as LEF 200 from FIG. 2; however, aspreviously discussed those of skill in the art will appreciate that theconcepts taught herein may be adapted to meet other filteringrequirements, such as high-pass, band-pass, and band-stop filtering. Thetop or outer coils or windings may be electrically insulated from thebottom or inner coils or windings by any suitable electricallyinsulating material.

FIG. 4A is a top plan view of an embodiment of a PCB 400 for use in adifferential tubular filter structure, showing a first surface 400 aupon which at least a respective portion of each of the two signal pathsis carried. PCB 400 includes a dielectric substrate (e.g., FR4,represented by white regions of PCB 400) and a plurality of conductivetraces (represented by solid dark regions of PCB 400). While illustratedas a top outer surface of the PCB 400, in some embodiments the firstsurface 400 a may be an inner surface, formed as one of multiple layersof PCB 400. PCB 400 also includes an input end 401, an output end 402,as well as a plurality of necked or narrow regions 411-414 and wideregions 421-423. In a manner similar to that described in US PatentPublication No. 2008-0176751, each narrow region 411-414 may serve as acore for at least one inductor coil. Each of narrow regions 411-414 isdivided into a leftmost section (labeled “_L” in the Figure) and arightmost section (labeled “_R” in the Figure) by a respective coilingtab 450 (only one called out in the Figure). For example, narrow region413 is divided into a leftmost section 413L and a rightmost section 413Rby coiling tab 450 (only one called out in FIG. 4A). In someembodiments, each respective rightmost section and each respectiveleftmost section of each narrow region 411-414 may serve as a respectivecore for at least one respective inductor coil.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the number and relativelengths of each of narrow regions 411-414, and each of their respectiveleftmost and rightmost sections, may vary in different embodiments. Insome embodiments, the length of a particular narrow region 411-414 mayinfluence the maximum length of an inductor coil (and, as a result, themaximum inductance of the inductor coil) that can be wound about PCB 400within that particular narrow region. Those of skill in the art willappreciate that a longer narrow region may allow for an inductor coil ofgreater inductance than a shorter narrow region. For example, narrowregion 412 is longer, in the illustrated embodiment, than narrow region411. Thus, narrow region 412 may accommodate a longer inductor coil (andtherefore a greater inductance) than narrow region 411.

In a manner similar to that described in US Patent Publication No.2008-0176751 each of the wide regions 421-423 may include at least onerespective through-hole 441-446 for receiving a respective lumpedelement capacitor (not shown in the Figure). In PCB 400, each wideregion includes two respective through-holes and at least one respectivecoiling cut 490 (only one called out in the Figure). For example, wideregion 421 includes through-holes 441 and 442. On the first surface 400a of PCB 400, each of wide regions 421-423 includes two respectiveconductive traces 431 a-436 a (shown as solid black rectangles in theFigure), where each conductive trace 431 a-436 a covers only a portionof a respective wide region 421-423. In some embodiments, each ofthrough-holes 441-446 passes through a respective one of conductivetraces 431 a-436 a. For example, wide region 422 includes two conductivetraces, 433 a and 434 a such that through-hole 443 passes throughconductive trace 433 a and through-hole 444 passes through conductivetrace 434 a. In some embodiments, each of narrow regions 411-414includes only dielectric substrate (e.g., FR4). PCB 400 also includes aswitching tab 460 which may be wider than narrow regions 411-414 andincludes two conductive traces (not called out, though shown as blackrectangles in the Figure).

In alternative embodiments, through-holes 441-446 may be omitted andlumped element capacitors (not shown in the Figure) may be positioned ona surface (e.g., first surface 400 a) of PCB 400.

Both input end 401 and output end 402 may be wider than narrow regions411-414 to improve support of the PCB 400 when placed within a shieldedenclosure (see FIG. 8). As illustrated, input end 401 carries twoconductive traces 471 a and 472 a on side 400 a, each of which has threerespective through-holes (drawn as white circles in the Figure, thoughnot called out to reduce clutter). In some embodiments, conductive trace471 a may couple to a first input wire of a differential signal andconductive trace 472 a may couple to a second input wire of adifferential signal. Similarly, output end 402 carries two conductivetraces 481 a and 482 a on side 400 a, each of which has three respectivethrough-holes (drawn as white circles in the Figure, though not calledout to reduce clutter). In some embodiments, conductive trace 481 a maycouple to a first output wire of a differential signal and conductivetrace 482 a may couple to a second output wire of a differential signal.

FIG. 4B is a bottom plan view of PCB 400, showing a second surface 400 bupon which at least a portion of the ground path is carried. Whileillustrated as a bottom outer surface of the PCB 400, in someembodiments the second surface 400 b may be an inner surface, formed asone of multiple layers of PCB 400. The second surface 400 b issubstantially similar to the first surface 400 a of PCB 400. The secondsurface 400 b includes the same narrow regions 411-414 and wide regions421-423 with through-holes 441-446 as the first surface 400 a. However,surface 400 b of PCB 400 is distinguishable from surface 400 a in thenature of the conductive traces 431 b-433 b respectively carried by eachof wide regions 421-423. Each of conductive traces 431 b-433 b on thesecond surface 400 b covers a greater surface area of wide regions421-423, respectively, than that covered by conductive traces 431 a-436a on the first surface 400 a. In some embodiments, conductive traces 431b-433 b may extend over and cover at least a portion of at least oneside (e.g., thickness or perimeter edge) of each of wide regions421-423. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment each of wide regions421-423 carries one large conductive trace 431 b-433 b, respectively, onsurface 400 b, whereas each of wide regions 421-423 carries two smallconductive traces 431 a-436 a on surface 400 a. However, it is importantto note that there is no direct electrically conductive path connectionbetween conductive traces on the first surface 400 a of PCB 400 andthose on second surface 400 b of PCB 400.

PCB 400 provides some signal-carrying functionality on a structural basefor lumped element devices (e.g., inductors and capacitors) in a tubularfilter structure. FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an embodiment of afiltering device 500 comprising a PCB 510 with lumped elements, for usein a tubular filter structure. Note that PCB 510 is, for all intents andpurposes, the same as PCB 400 from FIGS. 4A and 4B, and FIG. 5 shows thesignal surface (400 a) of PCB 510 as distinguishable by the widths ofthe conductive traces 531-536 on the wide regions 521-523. In filteringdevice 500, each of through-holes 541-546 receives a respective lumpedelement capacitor (not called out in the Figure, though represented bysolid black circles, each received within a respective one ofthrough-holes 541-546). While the capacitors are illustrated as beingcylindrical, those of skill in the art will appreciate that capacitorsof other geometries (such as rectangular, cubic, hexagonal, etc.) maysimilarly be used. Each capacitor may include two contact points, withone contact point on each of two opposing ends (such as in, for example,an SMD capacitor), and they may be soldered in place by connections tothe conductive traces on both surfaces of PCB 510. Thus, the capacitorsprovide capacitive coupling between the conductive traces on bothsurfaces of wide regions 521-523. More specifically, the capacitors mayprovide capacitive coupling from the signal path (carried on the surfaceshown in FIG. 5; i.e., surface 400 a) and the ground path (carried onthe surface opposing that shown in FIG. 5; i.e., surface 400 b), therebyrealizing the same capacitive coupling to ground as that illustrated forLEF 200 in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, each capacitor may be sized toprovide an interference fit in a respective through-hole 541-546.

As is also shown in FIG. 5, each of narrow regions 511-514 is wound by arespective section of conductive wire to form lumped element inductors(not called out in the Figure, though represented by curved black lineswound about PCB 510). In some embodiments, each lumped element inductormay be realized by a separate wound length of one continuous conductivewire. In such embodiments, the continuous conductive wire may besoldered to the conductive trace on each of wide regions 521-523, or thecontinuous conductive wire may simply pass over and electrically contact(as is shown in the Figure) the conductive trace and/or capacitor ateach of wide regions 521-523. In order to establish an electricalconnection with the conductive trace and/or capacitor, anyresistive/insulative cladding that may cover the continuous conductivewire may need to be stripped from the portion of the continuousconductive wire that passes over the conductive trace and/or capacitor.In other embodiments, each lumped element inductor may be realized by aseparate piece of wound conductive wire. In such embodiments, eachlumped element inductor is soldered at both ends to a conductive traceon the signal surface of PCB 510. In still further embodiments, thelumped element inductors may be formed by conductive traces carried byone or more layers of the PCB 510.

In some embodiments, filtering device 500 may also include a set ofdamping resistors 551-553 (represented by white boxes bearing a“resistor” symbol), each serving to flatten out a respective spike thatmay be produced in the passband of filtering device 500, as describedfor damping resistor 251 in LEF 200. Damping resistor 551 may be coupledin between capacitors 541 and 542 on the signal surface (e.g., 400 a) ofPCB 510 by soldering a first end of damping resistor 551 to conductivetrace 531 and soldering a second end of damping resistor 551 toconductive trace 532. Similarly, damping resistor 552 may be coupled inbetween capacitors 543 and 544, and damping resistor 553 may be coupledin between capacitors 545 and 546.

The input end 501 of filtering device 500 includes two conductive traces571, 572, each of which may electrically couple to a respectivedifferential signal input line. Similarly, the output end of filteringdevice 500 includes two conductive traces 581, 582, each of which mayelectrically couple to a respective differential signal output line. Inorder to jointly filter the two signal paths of a differential signal,PCB 510 may jointly electrically couple to and carry two signal paths. Afirst signal path may include a plurality of inductors electricallycoupled in series and a plurality of capacitive couplings to ground.Similarly, a second signal path may also include a plurality ofinductors electrically coupled in series and a plurality of capacitivecouplings to ground. In some embodiments, the first signal path and thesecond signal path may be coupled together through at least one dampingresistor. In some embodiments, the first signal path and the secondsignal path may be substantially electrically symmetrical is in LEF 200from FIG. 2. In some embodiments, each of narrow regions 511-514 mayserve as a core for a respective inductor in the first signal path. Insome embodiments, each of narrow regions 511-514 may also serve as acore for a respective inductor in the second signal path. In the lattercase, each narrow region 511-514 may include at least two inductors thatare wound one on top of or about the other to form a top-bottom coilpair, where the first signal path includes one of the two coils and thesecond signal path includes the other of the two coils. Each of narrowregions 511-514 may include a respective coiling tab 550 (only onecalled out in the Figure) which may be used to switch the relativecoiling directions of the two coils in a top-bottom coil pair for thereasons described for filter 300 of FIG. 3.

As previously stated, both the first signal path and the second signalpath may include a plurality of capacitive couplings to ground. Thesecapacitive couplings are realized in wide regions 521-523 of PCB 510,where capacitors in through-holes 541-546 each couple between arespective conductive trace 531-536 on the signal side of PCB 510 (i.e.,the side shown in FIG. 5) and a respective conductive trace (e.g.,conductive traces 431 b-433 b of FIG. 4) on the ground side of PCB 510(i.e., the side opposite the side shown in FIG. 5). In some embodiments,each of the two signal paths may electrically couple to a respective oneof the two capacitors in each wide region 521-523 on the signal side ofPCB 510. For example, in wide region 521 the first signal line mayelectrically couple to a capacitor in through-hole 541 and the secondsignal line may electrically couple to a capacitor in through-hole 542.

Filtering device 500 may be used to physically realize the filter 300shown schematically in FIG. 3. For clarification, a description of howfiltering device 500 may embody filter 300 is now provided.

Signal path 301 a from filter 300 may begin in filtering device 500 atconductive trace 571 and signal path 301 b from filter 300 may begin infiltering device 500 at conductive trace 572. The leftmost section 511Lof narrow region 511 may serve as a core about which bottom coil 311 band top coil 311 a may be wound. Similarly, the rightmost section 511Rof narrow region 511 may serve as a core about which bottom coil 312 band top coil 312 a may be wound. As previously described, the inductancerealized by serially-connected inductors 311 a and 311 b in signal path301 a (and similarly, the inductance realized by serially-connectedinductors 311 b and 312 b in signal path 301 b) is schematically dividedinto two inductors in order to switch the relative coiling directions ofthe two coils in a top-bottom coil pair. For instance, inductors 311 aand 311 b may be coiled in opposite directions in a first top-bottomcoil pair and inductors 312 a and 312 b may both be coiled in the samedirection in a top-bottom coil pair. In filtering device 500, the twocoils wound about leftmost section 511L of narrow region 511 may becoiled in opposite directions and the two coils wound about rightmostregion 511R of narrow region 511 may both be coiled in the samedirection. A coiling tab, such as coiling tab 550, may be used to switchthe direction of coiling in one of the two signal paths.

From rightmost section 511R of narrow region 511, the first signal pathmay pass over the capacitor in through-hole 541 and couple to conductivetrace 531, thereby realizing the capacitive coupling to groundschematically represented by capacitor 321 a in FIG. 3. Similarly, thesecond signal path may pass over the capacitor in through-hole 542 andcouple to conductive trace 532, thereby realizing the capacitivecoupling to ground schematically represented by capacitor 321 b in FIG.3. In some embodiments, conductive traces 531 and 532 may be coupledtogether through a damping resistor 551, which is schematicallyrepresented by damping resistor 351 in FIG. 3.

In a manner similar to that described above, inductors wound aboutnarrow regions 512-514 may similarly embody inductors 313 a-318 a and313 b-318 b, capacitors in through-holes 543-546 may similarly embodycapacitors 322 a, 322 b, 323 a, and 323 b, and, in some embodiments,damping resistors 552 and 553 may similarly embody damping resistors 352and 353. In filter 300, region 360 is used to switch which signal pathhas top or outer coils and which signal path has bottom or inner coilsin each top-bottom or outer-inner coil pair. In filtering device 500,this switching is achieved using switching tab 560, as illustrated inFIGS. 6A and 6B.

FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a portion an embodiment of a filteringdevice 600 comprising a PCB 610 with lumped elements, for use in atubular filter structure. The portion of filtering device 600 shown inFIG. 6 includes a rightmost section 612R of a first narrow region 612and a leftmost region 613L of a second narrow region 613. Rightmostsection 612R of narrow region 612 is wound by a top-bottom coil pair 651in which one signal path (e.g., a first coil of conductive wire)corresponds to the bottom coil and the other signal path (e.g., a secondcoil of conductive wire) corresponds to the top coil. Top-bottom coilpair 651 is wound about narrow region 612 of PCB 610 and ends wherenarrow region 612 connects to wide region 622 of PCB 610.

At the output of top-bottom coil pair 651, the two signal paths, 601 aand 601 b, follow separate routes across wide region 622. Signal path601 a passes over the back surface (the surface opposite to that shownin FIG. 6A) of a first section of wide region 622 and up through coilingcut 690. Signal path 601 a then passes over the front surface (thesurface shown in FIG. 6A) of a second section of wide region 622, whereit passes over conductive trace 634 and couples to capacitor 644. Signalpath 601 a then pass behind coiling tab 650 and across the front surfaceof switching region 660. The front surface of switching region 660includes two conductive traces, 661 and 662, and signal path 601 acouples to both. In some embodiments, the wire that forms signal path601 a may be soldered (and stripped, if necessary) to both conductivetraces 661 and 662. Signal path 601 a then passes into top-bottom coilpair 652 where it is wound about leftmost section 613L of narrow region613. In FIGS. 6A and 6B, conductive wires drawn with solid linesrepresent wires that pass over the front surface of PCB 610 andconductive wires drawn with broken lines represent wires that pass overthe back surface of PCB 610.

Similarly, from the output of top-bottom coil pair 651, signal path 601b passes over the front surface of a first section of wide region 622,where it passes over conductive trace 633 and couples to capacitor 643.Signal path 601 b then extends down through coiling cut 690 and passesover the back surface of a second section of wide region 622. Signalpath 601 b then extends up through coiling cut 691 and passes over thefront surface of switching region 660, where it is coupled to the twoconductive traces 661 and 662 in a manner similar to that described forsignal path 601 a. Signal path 601 b then passes into top-bottom coilpair 652 where it is wound about leftmost section 613L of narrow region613.

The fabrication of filtering device 600 (and, similarly, filteringdevice 500 from FIG. 5) can be simplified by coiling a first continuouswire over each respective narrow region (e.g., narrow regions 511-514)and subsequently coiling a second continuous wire over each respectivenarrow region. In this example, the first continuous wire may provide afirst continuous signal path which, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and6, may pass over the wide regions (e.g., wide regions 521-523) andcapacitively couple to ground. Similarly, the second continuous wire mayprovide a second continuous signal path which, as illustrated in FIGS.5A, 5B, and 6, may pass over the wide regions (e.g., wide regions521-523) and capacitively couple to ground. Because the first continuouswire is, for each inductor, the first to be wound, this implementationmeans that the first continuous wire will provide the bottom coil ineach top-bottom coil pair and the second continuous wire will providethe top coil in each top-bottom coil pair. However, as described forfilter 300 from FIG. 3, in some embodiments it may be advantageous toensure that each signal path includes path top coils and bottom coils.In particular, in embodiments for which the filtering device (e.g.,filtering device 500 or filtering device 600) is immersed in metalpowder epoxy to realize high frequency dissipation, it can beadvantageous to ensure that both signal paths include approximately thesame number of top coils and bottom coils such that both signal pathshave approximately the same surface area exposed to the metal powderepoxy. During fabrication, it can be impractical to switch between whichof the first continuous wire and the second continuous wire is wound asthe bottom coil in each top-bottom coil pair. To this end, switchingregion 660 is used to effectively route the first signal path from thefirst continuous wire to the second continuous wire, and to route thesecond signal path from the second continuous wire to the firstcontinuous wire. This is accomplished by soldering each of the two wiresto each of the two conductive traces 661, 662 of switching region 660,and then removing (e.g., cutting) the wire cross-over point 665.

In some embodiments, PCB 610 may include at least one slot and/orthrough-hole designed to allow epoxy to flow therethrough. For example,narrow region 612 may include at least one slot therethrough to improvesurface area contact between the bottom coil in top-bottom coil pair 651and a metal powder epoxy mixture in which PCB 610 is immersed.

FIG. 6B is another top plan view of a portion an embodiment of afiltering device 600 comprising a PCB 610 with lumped elements, showingthe effect of removing wire cross-over point 665. As previouslydescribed, during fabrication it can be easier to completely wind afirst wire over PCB 610 and subsequently completely wind a second wireover PCB 610. In FIG. 6A, signal path 601 a corresponds to the firstcontinuous wire and signal path 601 b corresponds to the secondcontinuous wire. This means that, in FIG. 6A, signal path 601 a passesthrough the bottom coil in each top-bottom coil pair (e.g., top bottomcoil pairs 651 and 652) and signal path 601 b passes through the topcoil in each top-bottom coil pair. FIG. 6B shows how, by using switchingregion 660, signal path 601 a may be routed from the first wire tosecond wire, and signal path 601 b may be routed from the second wire tothe first wire. In order to achieve this routing, the cross-over point665 where the first continuous wire and the second continuous wire inswitching region 660 is removed after the wires have been wound aboutPCB 610. Since both wires are coupled to conductive trace 661 and bothwires are coupled to conductive trace 662, signal path 601 a may couplefrom the first wire to the second wire through conductive trace 661 andsignal path 601 b may couple from the second wire to the first wirethrough conductive trace 662. In this way, the relative “top” and“bottom” positions of the coils in each of signal paths 601 and 601 bmay be switched at switching region 660.

Another detail described schematically in filter 300 of FIG. 3 which maybe embodied in filtering device 500 is the realization of common-modeattenuation by winding both the top coil and the bottom coil in atop-bottom coil pair in the same direction, and differential-modeattenuation by winding the top coil and the bottom coil in a top-bottomcoil pair in opposite directions. This is achieved in filter 500 byusing the coiling tabs 550 (only one called out in FIG. 5) that divideeach narrow region 511-514 into a leftmost section and a rightmostsection.

FIG. 7A is a top plan view of a portion of an embodiment of a filteringdevice 700 comprising a PCB 710 with lumped elements, highlighting theuse of coiling tabs 751-753 with a first signal path 701 a. FIG. 7Ashows one signal path 701 a which is input by coupling to conductivetrace 771. As previously described, conductive trace 771 may include atleast one through-hole (not shown) to act as an anchoring point for thewire that forms signal path 701 a. The wire that forms signal path 701 ais wound about leftmost section 711L of narrow region 711 in thedirection indicated by the arrows, thereby forming a first inductorcoil. This winding extends across coiling tabs 751 and 752 (asillustrated by arrows in regions 711L and 711R) and continues in thesame direction through rightmost section 711R of narrow region 711. Whenthe wire that forms signal path 701 a reaches wide region 721, it passesover the back surface of a first section of wide region 721 and thenextends up through coiling cut 791. From coiling cut 791, the wire thatforms signal path 701 a passes over the front surface of a secondsection of wide region 721 and couples to capacitor 742. The wire thatforms signal path 701 a then wraps around the back surface of coilingtab 753 and is wound about leftmost section 712L in the same direction(as illustrated by arrow in regions 712L) as it was wound about narrowregion 711.

FIG. 7B is a top plan view of a portion of an embodiment of a filteringdevice 700 comprising a PCB 710 with lumped elements, highlighting theuse of coiling tabs 751-753 with a second signal path 701 b. FIG. 7Bshows one signal path 701 b which is input by coupling to conductivetrace 772. As previously described, conductive trace 772 may include atleast one through-hole (not shown) to act as an anchoring point for thewire that forms signal path 701 b. The wire that forms signal path 701 bis wound about leftmost section 711L of narrow region 711 in thedirection indicated by the arrows in region 711L, thereby forming afirst inductor coil. The wire that forms signal path 701 b is woundabout leftmost section 711L of narrow region 711 in the oppositedirection to that shown for the wire that forms signal path 701 a inFIG. 7A. Thus, the top-bottom coil pair formed over leftmost section711L of narrow region 711 may achieve differential-mode attenuation. Thewire that forms signal path 701 b then wraps around the back surface ofcoiling tab 751 and is wound about the rightmost section 711R of narrowregion 711 in a direction (as illustrated by arrows in region 711R) thatis opposite to that in which it was wound about leftmost section 711L.Thus, the wire that forms signal path 701 b is wound about rightmostsection 711R of narrow region 711 in the same direction as that shownfor the wire that forms signal path 701 a in FIG. 7A. Thus, thetop-bottom coil pair formed over rightmost section 711R of narrow region711 may achieve common-mode attenuation. Therefore, coiling tab 751 (andsimilarly, coiling tabs 752 and 753) may be used to switch the coilingdirection of the wire that forms at least one signal path in a narrowregion of PCB 710. When the wire that forms signal path 701 b reacheswide region 721, it passes over the front surface of a first section ofwide region 721, couples to capacitor 741, and extends down throughcoiling cut 791. From coiling cut 791, the wire that forms signal path701 b passes over the back surface of a second section of wide region721. The wire that forms signal path 701 b is then wound about leftmostsection 712L in the same direction (as illustrated by arrows in region712L) as it was wound about leftmost section 711L.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the embodiments shown inthe Figures are intended for illustrative purposes only and do not limitthe present systems, methods and apparatus. Specifically, the order andarrangement of relative coiling directions, the number and size oflumped elements, and the relative top and bottom positioning of the twosignal paths in each top-bottom coil pair as described for the Figuresmay differ in alternative embodiments. For example, whiledifferential-mode attenuation is achieved in leftmost section 711L andcommon-mode attenuation is achieved in rightmost section 711R,alternative embodiments may be designed achieve common-mode attenuationin leftmost section 711L and differential-mode attenuation in rightmostsection 711R.

In filtering device 500, lumped element inductors are electricallycoupled in series with each of the two signal paths, thereby realizingthe low-pass filtering characteristics of LEF 200 illustrated in FIG. 2.As will be apparent to those of skill in the art, filtering device 500realizes a multi-stage low-pass filter that may be adapted toincorporate any number of inductors and/or capacitors. FIG. 5 showsinductors corresponding to narrow regions 511-514 of PCB 510, andcapacitors 541-546 corresponding to wide regions 521-523 of PCB 510.Those of skill in the art will appreciate that more or fewer inductorsand/or capacitors may be incorporated into a similar filter devicestructure by incorporating the appropriate corresponding narrow/wideregions in PCB 510. Furthermore, those of skill in the art willappreciate that each inductor may be any size (where a larger inductormay require a longer stretch of narrow region in the PCB) and eachcapacitor may similarly be any size (where a larger capacitor mayrequire a larger diameter through-hole). Both the size and number oflumped element devices may be adapted to provide the filteringperformance desired in any specific implementation.

In a low-pass configuration, filtering device 500 is well-suited toremove frequencies up to several GHz. However, beyond that, the lumpedelements of filtering device 500 may be unable to provide satisfactoryfiltering by themselves. In applications where it is desirable to removefrequencies in, for example, the microwave range, filtering device 500may be combined with a high frequency dissipative filter, such as ametal powder filter. As discussed previously, the principles governingthe operation of typical metal powder filters are described in F. P.Milliken et al., 2007, Review of Scientific Instruments 78, 024701 andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/016,801.

As previously described, the various embodiments of filtering devicesdescribed herein may be enclosed in a cylindrical shield to form atubular filter structure. In such embodiments, the high frequencydissipation of metal powder filtering may be achieved by potting thecylindrical field with a metal powder/epoxy mixture, thereby immersingthe filtering device 500. The metal powder epoxy mix provides a mediumfor high frequency signals to flow from the wires forming the two signalpaths and dissipate, for example via eddy currents. The metalpowder/epoxy mixture also helps to thermalize the components offiltering device 500.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the term “epoxy”is frequently used to describe an insulating compound; however, those ofskill in the art will appreciate that this term is not intended to limitthe various embodiments described herein, and embodiments that includeepoxy material may alternatively employ resin or another insulatingcompound in a similar fashion.

In some embodiments, high frequency dissipation may be achieved byenclosing filtering device 500 in an enclosure and potting the enclosurewith a metal powder epoxy. In some embodiments, the enclosure may betubular in geometry. Furthermore, in some embodiments the performance ofhigh frequency dissipation may be improved by cladding the wires thatform the two signal paths with, for example, a resistive material suchas copper-nickel alloy.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an embodiment of a tubular filter structure800. Tubular filter structure 800 includes a substantially cylindricalbody 801 that is connected to an input connection adapter 802 and anoutput connection adapter 803. In some embodiments, either or both ofadapters 802 and 803 may take the form of any electrical connector,including but not limited to: SMA connectors, coaxial connectors, orultra-miniature coaxial connectors, conductive pins, solder connections,and spring contacts. In some embodiments, adapters 802, 803 may eachconnect directly to a conducting wire, coaxial cable, or ultra-miniaturecoaxial cable. Typically, a differential signal may be transmitted usingtwo signal paths twisted together in a shielded cable (e.g., a “twistedpair”). Thus, in some embodiments adapters 802 and 803 are designed tointerface with twisted pair cable.

In embodiments incorporating many differential signal lines, each with arespective tubular filter structure, the packing density of tubularfilter structures 800 may be limited by the diameter (or width) ofadapters 802, 803. Thus, tubular filter structure 800 may beadvantageous because it may be coupled to small, space-conservingelectrical cables or connection adapters.

Though not visible in the Figure, cylindrical body 801 is hollow, havinga cavity that contains a filtering device similar to filtering device500 from FIG. 5. In some embodiments, it is advantageous to ensure thatthe cavity of cylindrical body 801 has an inner diameter that isapproximately equal to the width of the wide regions (i.e., wide regions521-523) of the filtering device, or at least sized such that thefiltering device fits securely therein (e.g., interference fit, shrinkfit, or the like). The filtering device 500 is inserted into the cavityof cylindrical body 801 such that an edge of each wide region (i.e.,wide regions 521-523) of PCB 510 aligns with a respective hole 810 (onlyone called out in FIG. 8) in the cylindrical body 801. In someembodiments, each hole 810 may align with the edge of PCB 510 at aposition adjacent to a respective capacitor 541-546. The inputconductive traces (i.e., 571 and 572) of the filtering device 500 areelectrically connected to input connection adapter 802 and the outputconductive traces (i.e., 581 and 582) are electrically connected to theoutput connection adapter 803.

With the filtering device 500 contained in the cylindrical body 801 suchthat the edges of the wide regions (i.e., wide regions 521-523) alignwith holes 810, the holes 810 may be sealed with solder. This solderprovides electrical connections between the cylindrical body 801 and therespective conductive traces on the “ground” surface (i.e., secondsurface 400 b) and, in some embodiments, on the sides of the PCB 510.This solder also serves to seal the holes 810, such that the cylindricalbody 801 and input and output connection adapters 802, 803 form a sealedenclosure about the filtering device 500. This sealed enclosure canadvantageously help to shield the filtering device 500 from E&M or EMInoise. In order to enhance this effect, in some embodiments it isadvantageous to ensure that tubular filter structure 800 is formed ofsubstantially non-magnetic materials. In some embodiments, copper metalmay be used to form cylindrical body 801. In some embodiments, brass maybe used to form cylindrical body 801.

Embodiments of electrical filters that are adapted to achieve highfrequency dissipation may similarly be enclosed within a cylindricalbody 800. In such embodiments, at least a portion of cylindrical body801 may be filled with a metal powder/epoxy mixture as previouslydiscussed. To this end, once the majority of the holes 810 are filledwith solder, one hole 810 at a first end of cylindrical body 801 may beleft unsoldered and used as a fill hole for filling the enclosure withthe metal powder epoxy. In order to facilitate the filling ofcylindrical body 801, one hole at a second end opposite the first end ofcylindrical body 801 may be left unsoldered and used as a vent holewhile the cylindrical body 801 is filled with metal powder epoxy. Forexample, metal powder epoxy may be injected by a syringe that isinserted into the fill hole while the vent hole provides a path for airtrapped within the cylindrical body 801 to escape as cylindrical body801 fills with metal powder epoxy. Once the desired volume of metalpowder epoxy has been injected into tubular filter structure 800, boththe vent hole and the fill hole may be sealed (e.g., with solder).

In embodiments that are adapted to achieve high frequency dissipation,an epoxy mixture comprising an epoxy and a metal powder that ispredominately non-superconducting and substantially non-magnetic may beemployed. The metal powder may include at least one of copper and brass.In some embodiments, a ratio of the epoxy mixture may be selected fromthe group consisting of: approximately two to one by weight of metalpowder to epoxy, approximately four to one by weight of metal powder toepoxy, and approximately eight to one by weight of metal powder toepoxy.

As previously discussed, when inserted into a cylindrical body (such ascylindrical body 801), a filtering device (such as filtering device 500)may be positioned such that each hole 810 aligns with the edge of arespective wide region (i.e., wide regions 521-523). FIG. 9 is anisometric view of a portion of an embodiment of a tubular filterstructure 900, showing the alignment of the filtering device 500 withinthe cylindrical body 901. Each wide region 521-523 of filtering device500 may align with a respective hole 910 a-910 d (collectively 910) incylindrical body 901. In some embodiments, each wide region 521-523 offiltering device 500 may align with two respective holes 910 incylindrical body 901 such that each capacitor 541-546 aligns with arespective hole 910 in cylindrical body 901. For example, in theillustrated embodiment holes 910 a and 910 b may align with the edge ofPCB 510 adjacent to capacitors 541 and 542, respectively, in wide region521. Similarly, holes 910 c and 910 d may align with the edge of PCB 510adjacent to capacitors 543 and 544, respectively, in wide region 522.Filtering device 500 may be preferably positioned such that the edgethat joins a side of the PCB 510 with the ground surface (i.e., 400 b)points towards the holes 910.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the alignment of a filteringdevice 1050 inside a cylindrical body 1001. As previously described, insome embodiments it can be advantageous to position filtering device1050 inside cylindrical body 1001 such that the edge 1070 that joins aside 1051 c of the PCB with the ground surface 1051 b points towards thehole 1010. FIG. 10 shows a solder connection 1090 that seals hole 1010and establishes an electrical connection between the cylindrical body1001 and the conductive trace that covers a portion of the groundsurface 1051 b of wide region 1021 and, in some embodiments, a portionof the side 1051 c of the PCB. Note that the signal surface 1051 a andthe narrow region 1011 of the PCB are both electrical isolated from thesolder connection 1090 and the cylindrical body 1001.

In order to ensure that the filtering device fits securely inside thecylindrical body, in some embodiments it can be advantageous to vary thewidths of the wide regions of the PCB and/or stagger the wide regionssuch that at least one wide region physically couples to an adjacentnarrow region at an off-center position along its width.

Various embodiments described herein incorporate conductive wires andconductive traces in tubular filter structures. In some applications, itmay be desirable to use these tubular filter structures to filtersuperconducting electrical signals. Thus, in some embodiments, thevarious conductive wires and coiled inductors may be formed of amaterial that is superconducting below a critical temperature. Anexample of such a material is niobium, or niobium-titanium with coppercladding, though those of skill in the art will appreciate that othersuperconducting materials may similarly be used. Furthermore, in someembodiments, the various conductive traces may be formed of a materialthat is superconducting below a critical temperature. In PCB technology,a typical approach for providing superconducting traces is to first layout the conductive traces on the surface of the PCB using anon-superconducting metal (e.g., copper) and then to plate the surfaceof the non-superconducting metal with a superconducting metal (e.g.,tin). Again, those of skill in the art will appreciate that materialsother than those given as examples herein may similarly be used.

In some embodiments that incorporate superconducting components, it canbe advantageous to form superconducting connections at solder joints byimplementing superconducting solder. Thus, in some embodiments, thesignal paths may be entirely superconducting from input to output in atubular filter structure. However, in alternative embodiments at leastone superconducting signal path may be interrupted bynon-superconducting segments.

In embodiments of the present systems, methods and apparatus thatincorporate superconducting materials, it can be advantageous to ensurethat the tubular body (e.g., cylindrical body 801) of the tubular filterstructure is formed by a predominately non-superconducting material.Using a non-superconducting material for the tubular body may improvethermalization of the tubular filter structure.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, variousembodiments and devices are described as being “cylindrical” ingeometry. However, those of skill in the art will appreciate that theconcepts taught herein may be applied using alternative geometries, suchas rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, curved or flexible tubes, etc.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the term“non-magnetic” is used to describe a material that is substantiallynon-ferromagnetic.

Various embodiments described herein provide input/output systems anddevices for use with superconducting devices, such as superconductingcomputing devices. These systems and devices provide filtering,shielding, and thermalization of communication paths that connectbetween room temperature electronics and the superconducting devicesthat make up, for example, a superconducting quantum processor. Similarsystems and devices are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/016,801. However, the present systems and devices differ quitesubstantially from those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/016,801, because the various embodiments described herein implementtubular filter structures as the primary filtering elements that mayeach, in some embodiments, incorporate lumped element filtering andmetal powder filtering into one device as opposed to the separate lumpedelements filter assembly and metal powder filter assembly described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/016,801. Furthermore, the presentsystems and devices may preferably be adapted for use with differentialsignals as opposed to the single-ended signals primarily used in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/016,801.

FIG. 11 shows an input/output (I/O) system 1110 for use with a processorin a refrigerated environment 1112 according to one illustrativeembodiment.

The I/O system 1110 may interface with a set of room temperatureelectronics 1114, and may include a vacuum connector box 1116, andwithin the refrigerated environment 1112 may include an optional 4Kconnection box 1118, tubular filter structures 1122, pedestal 1123 anddevice sample or chip holder assembly 1124, each of which is discussedin more detail below. Superconducting paths are provided within therefrigerated environment 1112 to prevent heat creation, which mayotherwise adversely affect performance by raising the temperature of therefrigerated environments and/or portions of the I/O system.

The refrigerated environment 1112 may provide milliKelvin temperaturesto operate various superconducting components, for example the devicesample (e.g., superconducting processor or superconducting quantumprocessor). The refrigerated environment 1112 may, for example, take theform of a dilution refrigerator, such as the Leiden Cryogenics B.V. MNK126 series (Galgewater No. 21, 2311 VZ Leiden, The Netherlands). In someembodiments, the refrigerated environment 1112 may, for example, includea pulse-tube refrigerator and/or a pulse-tube dilution refrigerator suchas the Leiden Cryogenics B.V. MNK-CF 450 series. In some embodiments allor part of the I/O system 1110 may be housed in the refrigeratedenvironment 1112.

The room temperature electronics 1114 may include conventional I/Oelectronics that are not maintained at superconducting temperatures.Such electronics 1114 are not pertinent to the present disclosure so arenot discussed further. Signals may be transferred from the roomtemperature electronics 1114 to the vacuum connector box 1116 using, forexample, conductive traces carried by flexible printed circuit boards.

The vacuum connector box 1116 may provide an interface between the roomtemperature electronics 1114 and the portion of the I/O system 1110 thatis in the evacuated refrigerated environment 1112. The vacuum connectorbox 1116 may provide a hermetically sealed interface between therefrigerated environment 1112 and the non-refrigerated environment,while providing electrically conductive signal paths therebetween. Thevacuum connector box 1116 may include one or more circuit boards, withprotecting resistors and flexible coaxial cable.

The optional 4K connection box 1118 is where transition may occurbetween non-superconducting materials and superconducting materials. Forexample, the 4K connection box 1118 may be where the transition occursbetween non-superconducting coaxial (or shielded twisted-pair, fordifferential signals) cable and superconducting coaxial (or shieldedtwisted-pair) cable. For example, a shielded twisted pair cable maycomprise a twisted pair of copper cladded or copper-nickel claddedniobium cables shielded by a copper braid or copper-nickel braid. Insome embodiments, the signal lines that input into the 4K connector box1118 may be formed by conductive traces carried by flexible printedcircuit boards. While designated as 4K, the 4K connection box does nothave to be at 4K; however, the transition from non-superconductingmaterials to superconducting materials should occur at a temperaturethat is below the critical temperature of the superconducting materials.For example, in some embodiments, the 4K connection box 1118 may be atapproximately 1.2-1.4K. The 4K connection box 1118 should provide goodthermal transfer (i.e., thermalizing) and should have a small volume soas to fit in the refrigerated environment 1112. In some embodiments, anoise filter may be mounted in the connection between the two sets ofwires.

The tubular filter structures 1122 form the primary filtering stage ofthe I/O system 1110. The tubular filter structures may provide low-passfiltering by incorporating lumped element filtering (i.e., usinginductors and capacitors) and, in some embodiments, high frequencydissipation by incorporating metal powder filtering. The tubular filterstructures may, in some embodiments, filter noise from approximately 1MHz, 3 MHz, or 5 MHz to approximately optical frequencies, ensuring thatonly signals of interest are transferred. In some embodiments, at leastsome of the tubular filter structures used may include the single-endedtubular filter structures described in US Patent Publication No.2008-0176751. In some embodiments, at least some the tubular structuresused may include the differential tubular filter structures describedherein.

The pedestal 1123 provides a mounting platform for the device sampleholder assembly 1124. The device sample holder assembly 1124 carries thedevice sample, which may take the form of a superconducting processor,for example a superconducting quantum processor. The device sampleholder assembly 1124 may provide thermal conductivity and electricallysuperconductive signal paths to the device sample, as well as a stablemagnetic environment. The device sample holder assembly 1124 may beselectively mounted and dismounted from the pedestal 1123 to provideeasy and reliable loading and unloading of the device sample from therefrigerated environment 1112. The pedestal 1123 and device sampleholder assembly 1124 should provide good thermal conductivity andsuperconducting signal paths from the I/O system 1110 to the devicesample.

It is noted that at least some metal surfaces may be clamped to providegood thermal conductivity and to prevent noise from passing by thevarious filters. Furthermore, at least some metal surfaces may be lappedand polished to improve thermal contact between surfaces.

In some embodiments, the tubular filter structures 1122, the pedestal1123 and the device sample holder assembly 1124 may all be integrated inone I/O support structure. FIG. 12A is an isometric view of anembodiment of a portion of such an I/O support structure 1200 a. Theportion of I/O support structure 1200 a illustrated in FIG. 12A includesthree composite plate structures 1201-1203 aligned along a common axisto define a first tier 1211 in between top composite plate structure1201 and middle composite plate structure 1202, and a second tier 1212in between middle composite plate structure 1202 and bottom compositeplate structure 1203. In some embodiments, each of composite platestructures 1201-1203 may comprise thermally conductive material, forexample non-superconducting metal such as copper or brass. Top compositeplate structure 1201 may comprise a mounting plate 1201 a for mountingto a refrigeration system, and a mating plate 1201 b. In someapplications, mounting plate 1201 a may be mounted to a cold surface ina refrigeration system (e.g., the mixing chamber of a dilutionrefrigerator) and mating plate 1201 b may be selectively mated tomounting plate 1201 a. Mounting plate 1201 a may serve as an adapter formounting the rest of I/O support structure 1200 a to a refrigerationsystem. In this way, I/O support structure 1200 a (except for mountingplate 1201 a) may be detached from the refrigeration system (e.g., forservicing) as one structural unit while leaving mounting plate 1201 aattached to the refrigeration system to facilitate re-attachment of I/Osupport structure 1200 a to the refrigeration system and reducedisruption of the refrigeration system itself.

First tier 1211 is defined by the volume in between top composite platestructure 1201 and middle composite plate structure 1202. In theillustrated embodiment, top composite plate structure 1201 and middlecomposite plate structure 1202 are mechanically connected by a pluralityof pillars 1220 (only one called out in the Figure). Each of pillars1220 may comprise a thermally conductive material, for examplenon-superconducting metal such as copper or brass. The pillars 1220 maybe solid to enhance thermal conductivity. In the illustrated embodiment,six pillars 1220 are used, each having a first end connected (e.g., bythreaded screw(s) or bolt(s)) to mating plate 1201 b of top compositeplate structure 1201 and at a second end connected (e.g., by threadedscrew(s) or bolt(s)) to the top plate 1202 a of middle composite platestructure 1202. The six pillars 1220 in first tier 1211 are arranged ina hexagonal pattern, though those of skill in the art will appreciatethat a different number of pillars 1220 and a different arrangement ofpillars 1220 may similarly be used. Pillars 1220 provide structuralsupport in first tier 1211 of I/O support structure 1200 a, while alsoproviding thermalizing paths between top composite plate structure 1201and middle composite plate structure 1202.

Middle composite plate structure 1202 may comprise two plates, a topplate 1202 a and a bottom plate 1202 b, which mate together to form acavity (not visible in FIG. 12A) in the inner volume of middle compositeplate structure 1202. Top plate 1202 a may include a plurality ofrecesses 1230 (only one called out in the Figure) each of which includesa through-hole 1240 (only one called out in the Figure) providing accessfrom the volume of first tier 1211 to the cavity in the inner volume ofmiddle composite plate structure 1202. The plurality of recesses 1230 intop plate 1202 a may each be used to mount a respective bundle oftubular filter structures (not shown in FIG. 12A).

The bottom plate 1202 b of middle composite plate structure 1202 mayconnect (e.g., by threaded screw(s) or bolt(s)) to a hollow conduit 1250which spans the length of second tier 1212 and connects (e.g., bythreaded screw(s) or bolt(s)) to the top plate 1203 a of bottomcomposite plate structure 1203. Hollow conduit 1250 may comprisethermally conductive material, for example non-superconducting metalsuch as copper or brass. In the illustrated embodiment, a first end ofhollow conduit 1250 connects to the center of the bottom plate 1202 b ofmiddle composite plate structure 1202 and a second end of hollow conduit1250 connects to the center of the top plate 1203 a of bottom compositeplate structure 1203; however, those of skill in the art will appreciatethat a different number and/or a different alignment of hollowchannel(s) 1250 may similarly be used. Similar to pillars 1220, hollowconduit 1250 provides structural support in second tier 1212 of I/Osupport structure 1200 a, while also providing thermalizing pathsbetween middle composite plate structure 1202 and bottom composite platestructure 1203. However, hollow conduit 1250 also provides an internalconduit through which conductive wires may be fed.

Bottom composite plate structure 1203 may comprise two components, a topplate 1203 a that may be substantially similar to the top plate 1202 aof middle composite plate structure 1202, and a hollow tube 1203 b thathas one open end. The open end of hollow tube 1203 b mates with topplate 1203 a to form a shielded enclosure therebetween, and top plate1203 a may include a plurality of recesses 1230, each of which includesa through-hole 1240 providing access from the volume of second tier 1212to the shielded enclosure. The plurality of recesses 1230 in top plate1203 a may each be used to mount a respective bundle of tubular filterstructures (not shown in FIG. 12A). The hollow tube 1203 b may becylindrical, which may provide one or more distinct advantages overother shapes.

As previously described, tubular filter structures 1122 may be mountedin bundles in both the first tier 1211 and the second tier 1212 of I/Osupport structure 1200 a. For the purposes of this specification, abundle of tubular filter structures (a “bundle”) comprises a pluralityof individual tubular filter structures. FIG. 12B is an isometric viewof a portion of an embodiment of an I/O support structure 1200 b,including a first bundle 1261 mounted in first tier 1211 and a secondbundle 1262 mounted in second tier 1212. As illustrated, each bundle1261, 1262 includes a respective mounting puck 1271, 1272 (respectively)to which a plurality (e.g., sixteen) individual tubular filterstructures are mounted. Mounting puck 1271 is fitted into a recess 1230(not called out in Figure) in top plate 1202 a of middle composite platestructure 1202 and mounting puck 1272 is fitted into a recess 1230 (onlyone called out in Figure) in top plate 1203 a of bottom composite platestructure 1203. The purpose of FIG. 12B is to show the positioning of asingle bundle (e.g., 1261 and 1262, respectively) into each of the firstand second tiers 1211, 1212 of I/O support structure 1200 b. Inpractice, however, multiple bundles may be mounted in each tier.

FIG. 12C is an isometric view of a portion of an embodiment of an I/Osupport structure 1200 c, where both the first tier 1211 and the secondtier 1212 include multiple bundles of tubular filter structures. Asillustrated, seven bundles 1260 (only one called out in the Figure) aremounted in the first tier 1211 and six bundles 1260 are mounted in thesecond tier 1212.

I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c are each designed for use within arefrigerated environment, where the available internal volume islimited. Most refrigeration systems (e.g., dilution refrigerators andpulse-tube dilution refrigerators) are at least partially cylindrical ingeometry, thus I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c may be substantiallycylindrical in order to fit within such refrigeration systems.Furthermore, I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c each include two tiers1211, 1212 in order to fit many bundles of tubular filter structureswithin the limited diameter of available cylindrical volume in typicalrefrigeration systems. When additional volume is desired inside arefrigeration system, it can generally be more practical to increase thelength of the available cylindrical volume rather than increasing thediameter of the available cylindrical volume. Thus, the multi-tiereddesign of I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c is adapted to fit a largenumber of bundles of tubular filter structures within a fixed diameterof available volume inside a refrigeration system. Furthermore, a longcylinder with a small diameter can be better suited for magneticshielding purposes than a cylinder of comparable volume that is shortwith a wide diameter. Those of skill in the art, however, willappreciate that I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c may be simplifiedas single-tiered designs (e.g., by removing second tier 1212 and middlecomposite plate structure 1202) or otherwise adapted to suit othergeometries (e.g., rectangular geometries, hexagonal geometries,octagonal geometries, etc.). For example, some refrigeration systems mayaccommodate a wider diameter, and in such cases a single-tiered I/Osupport structure may be sufficient to provide the desired number ofbundles.

In some embodiments, at least one tier may be positioned on either sideof the shielded enclosure provided, for example, by bottom compositeplate structure 1203. For example, some embodiments may adopt a“dog-bone” arrangement in which a first tier and a second tier arerespectively positioned on either side of a shielded enclosure, such asthat provided by bottom composite plate structure 1203. In suchembodiments, both the first tier and the second tier may besubstantially similar to first tier 1211 from I/O support structures1200 a-1200 c.

The size and geometry of each of I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c isinfluenced by the number of bundles 1260 that are desired in the system.The number of bundles that is desired in the system is influenced by thenumber of signal lines in the I/O system for which electrical filteringis desired. For example, first tier 1211 of I/O support structure 1200 cincludes seven bundles 1260, where each respective bundle includessixteen individual tubular filter structures. Thus, first tier 1211 ofI/O support structure is designed to filter one hundred twelveelectrical signals. In some embodiments, each individual tubular filterstructure may include a single ended-tubular filter structure such asdescribed in US Patent Publication No. 2008-0176751 and, in suchembodiments, each of the one hundred twelve electrical signals may be arespective single-ended signal carried by a respective single signalline, resulting in a total of one hundred twelve signal lines. In otherembodiments, each individual tubular filter structure may include adifferential tubular filter structure such as those described herein. Insuch embodiments, each of the one hundred twelve electrical signals maybe a respective differential signal carried by a respective pair ofsignal lines, resulting in a total of two hundred twenty four signallines (though signal lines may be carried in pairs in the form ofshielded twisted pair cables). Some embodiments may incorporate bothsingle-ended and differential signals and, therefore, single-ended anddifferential tubular filter structures within the same system.

In applications where more signal lines are required, it may beadvantageous to provide multiple tiers in the I/O support structure. Forexample, I/O support structures 1200 a-1200 c each include a second tier1212 with an additional six bundles 1260 (one less than first tier 1211due to hollow conduit 1250), providing an additional ninety sixfiltering devices. In some embodiments, additional tiers (e.g., a thirdtier, a fourth tier, etc.) may similarly be added.

In various embodiments described herein, individual tubular filterstructures (e.g., tubular filter structure 800 from FIG. 8) aredescribed as being grouped into “bundles.” FIG. 13 is an isometric viewof an embodiment of a bundle 1300 of individual tubular filterstructures 1301 (only one called out in the Figure). Each individualtubular filter structure 1301 is mounted to mounting puck 1311. In someembodiments, mounting puck 1311 includes a plurality of threaded holesand each individual tubular filter structure 1301 has a threaded endsuch that each individual tubular filter structure may be screweddirectly into a respective hole in mounting puck 1311. As illustrated,bundle 1300 includes a plurality (e.g., sixteen) of individual tubularfilter structures 1301, though those of skill in the art will appreciatethat a bundle may similarly include any number of individual tubularfilter structures 1301.

FIG. 14A shows a top plan view of an embodiment of a mounting puck 1400for use in mounting a bundle of tubular filter structures. Mounting puck1400 comprises a solid disc 1401 of thermally conductive material, forexample non-superconducting metal such as copper or brass. The soliddisc 1401 of mounting puck 1400 includes sixteen filter holes 1421 (onlyone called out in the Figure) and three mounting holes 1431-1433. Eachof filter holes 1421 may receive a respective tubular filter structureto define a bundle, such as bundle 1300 illustrated in FIG. 13. In someembodiments, each of filter holes 1421 may be threaded so that one endof a respective tubular filter structure may be screwed therein. Withall the desired (e.g., sixteen) tubular filter structures mounted inmounting puck 1400 to form a bundle 1300, mounting puck 1400 may itselfbe mounted into one of the recesses 1230 (FIG. 12A) in either top plate1202 a of middle composite plate structure 1202 or top plate 1203 a ofbottom composite plate structure 1203. Each of mounting holes 1431-1433may align with a respective receiving hole in a recess 1230. Those ofskill in the art will appreciate that embodiments of mounting puck 1400may be adapted to accommodate any number of tubular filter structuresand to fit into any geometry of recess 1230.

FIG. 14B shows a bottom plan view of an embodiment of mounting puck 1400for use in mounting a bundle of tubular filter structures. Asillustrated, the bottom surface of mounting puck 1400 includes a recess1440 that matches the through-hole 1240 (FIGS. 12A and 12B) in eachrecess 1230 of I/O support structures 1200 a and 1200 b. In someembodiments, each tubular filter structure that is mounted in arespective filter hole 1421 of mounting puck 1400 may include at leastone output wire that extends through the filter hole 1421 and outthrough recess 1440 of mounting puck 1400. In some embodiments, recess1440 may have a different geometry than illustrated. In someembodiments, recess 1440 may be omitted.

As previously described, mounting puck 1400 may be fitted into a recess1230 in either top plate 1202 a of middle composite plate structure 1202or top plate 1203 a of bottom composite plate structure 1203. FIG. 15 isa top plan view of an embodiment of top plate 1202 a of middle compositeplate structure 1202 from FIGS. 12A-12C. Top plate 1202 a includes sevenrecesses 1531-1537, each with a respective through-hole 1541-1547 andthree respective receiving holes 1581-1583 (only called out for recess1531). A respective mounting puck, such as mounting puck 1400, may befitted into each recess 1531-1537 so that the mounting holes 1431-1433each align with a respective receiving hole 1581-1583. Each mountingpuck 1400 may then be held in place by screws or bolts received throughmounting holes 1431-1433 into receiving holes 1581-1583, which alsoserves to improve thermalization between the components. Top plate 1202a also includes six pillar recesses 1591-1596 for mounting pillars 1220in first tier 1211, a plurality of through-holes 1501 (only one calledout in the Figure) for receiving screws and/or bolts to mate top plate1202 a with bottom plate 1202 b to form middle composite plate structure1202, and a plurality of grooves 1510 (only one called out in theFigure) in its outer edge.

In applications that require a large number of signal lines, it can beadvantageous to use a multi-tiered I/O support structure such as I/Osupport structures 1200 a-1200 c. For example, I/O support structures1200 a-1200 c each include a second tier 1212 that ends with top plate1203 a of bottom composite plate structure 1203. FIG. 16 is a top planview of an embodiment of top plate 1203 a of bottom composite platestructure 1203 from FIGS. 12A-12C. Top plate 1203 a includes sixrecesses 1631-1636, each with a respective through-hole 1641-1646 andthree respective receiving holes 1681-1683 (only called out for recess1631). A respective mounting puck, such as mounting puck 1400, may befitted into each recess 1631-1636 so that the mounting holes 1431-1433each align with a respective receiving hole 1681-1683. Each mountingpuck 1400 may then be held in place by screws or bolts received throughmounting holes 1431-1433 into receiving holes 1681-1683, which alsoserves to improve thermalization between the components. Top plate 1203a also includes a central recess 1651 with a through-hole 1652. Recess1651 may receive one end of hollow conduit 1250 from FIGS. 12A-12C andincludes mounting holes 1653 (only one called out in the Figure) forsecuring screws and/or bolts to hollow conduit 1250. Top plate 1203 aalso includes a plurality of through-holes 1601 (only one called out inthe Figure) for receiving screws and/or bolts to mate top plate 1203 awith hollow tube 1203 b to form bottom composite plate structure 1203.

The various embodiments of I/O support structures described hereinprovide thermalizing structural support for tubular filter structuresand the signal lines (e.g., wires) connected thereto/therefrom. FIG. 17Ais a cross-sectional view of I/O support structure 1200 c from FIG. 12C.The cross-sectional view of FIG. 17A allows a cavity 1701 in the innervolume of middle composite plate structure 1202, a channel 1702 insidehollow conduit 1250, and a shielded enclosure 1703 inside bottomcomposite plate structure 1203 all to be visible. Furthermore, FIG. 17Ashows a gap 1711 in between bundles 1261 in the first tier 1211 andbottom plate 1201 b of top composite plate structure 1201, and a similargap 1712 in between bundles 1262 in the second tier 1212 and bottomplate 1202 b of middle composite plate structure 1202. The cavity 1701,channel 1702, shielded enclosure 1703, and gaps 1711, 1712 are allincluded to provide spaces for signal lines (e.g., wires) within I/Osupport structure 1200 c.

FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view of I/O support structure 1200 cshowing exemplary signal lines 1721-1725. In some embodiments, each ofsignal lines 1721-1725 may be formed by coaxial cable. In embodimentsthat employ differential signals, each of signal lines 1721-1725 may beformed by shielded twisted pair cable. Signal line 1721 enters I/Osupport structure 1200 c through a notch or groove 1731 in the side oftop composite plate structure 1201. In some embodiments, I/O supportstructure 1200 c may be tightly fit within a cylindrical magnetic shieldand/or vacuum can such that the circumferential edge of each ofcomposite plate structures 1201-1203 is flush against the sides of thecylindrical shield and/or vacuum can. In such embodiments, notches orgrooves 1731 (only one called out in the Figure) may be used as channelsthrough which signal lines (e.g., signal lines 1721-1725) may enter/exitI/O support structure 1200 c. However, in embodiments in which there isspace around the circumferential edge of each of composite platestructures 1201-1203, signal lines (e.g., signal lines 1721-1725) mayenter/exit I/O support structure 1200 c from the sides and notches orgrooves 1731 might not be used, and may be omitted from the design.

Signal line 1721 carries a signal that is filtered in the second tier1212 of I/O support structure 1200 c. From notch or groove 1731, signalline 1721 passes along the outside of first tier 1211. In someembodiments, signal line 1721 may physically contact an outer surface ofat least one bundle 1260 in first tier 1211 for the purpose ofthermalization and volume reduction. Adhesive tape (not shown), forexample a KAPTON or TEFLON tape, may secure signal line 1721 against thebundles 1260 of tier 1211. In this respect, it is noted that TEFLONshrinks as temperature lowers, so will hold the wiring tighter as thetemperature decreases. From first tier 1211, signal line 1721 may passthrough a notch or groove (not shown, but including a notch or groove1510 in top plate 1202 a as shown in FIG. 15) in the circumferentialedge of middle composite plate structure 1202. Signal line 1721 thenenters gap 1712, where it enters an individual tubular filter structurein a bundle 1260 in second tier 1212. The signal(s) carried by signalline 1721 propagate through this individual tubular filter structure,where undesired signal frequencies are removed. Signal line 1721 thencontinues from the output of the individual tubular filter structure,through the mounting puck 1400 that holds the bundle 1300 to which theindividual tubular filter structure belongs, and into shielded enclosure1703.

Similarly, signal line 1725 also carries a signal that is filtered inthe second tier 1212 of I/O support structure 1200 c. The path followedby signal line 1725 is generally similar to that followed by signal line1721, except the signal line 1725 passes through a different notch orgroove 1731 in top composite plate structure 1201, a different notch orgroove (not shown) in middle composite plate structure 1202, and adifferent individual tubular filter structure belonging to a differentbundle 1260 in second tier 1212. The respective paths of signal lines1721 and 1725 are illustrated as examples only, and through-holes mayreplace the notches or grooves. In practice, multiple signal lines maypass through the same notch or groove 1731 in top composite platestructure 1201, the same notch or groove (not shown) in middle compositeplate structure 1202, and the same bundle 1260. However, each signalline does generally connect to and from a unique individual tubularfilter structure in I/O support structure 1200 c.

Signal lines 1722-1724 each carry a respective signal that is filteredin the first tier 1211 of I/O support structure 1200 c. As illustrated,each of signal lines 1722-1724 passes through a notch or groove 1731 orother opening in top composite plate structure 1201 (note that signallines 1723 and 1724 pass through the same notch or groove) and enterinto gap 1711 in first tier 1211. Here, each of signal lines 1722-1724connects to the input of a respective individual tubular filterstructure in at least one bundle 1260. The respective signal(s) carriedby each of signal lines 1722-1724 each propagate through a respectiveindividual tubular filter structure, where undesired signal frequenciesare removed. Each of signal lines 1722-1724 then respectively resumesfrom the output of an individual tubular filter structure in first tier1211 and passes through the mounting puck 1400 to which the particularindividual tubular filter structure is mounted. Signal lines 1722-1724then extend into the cavity 1701 in the inner volume of middle compositeplate structure 1202, where the filtered signals are shielded from noiseoutside of cavity 1701. Middle composite plate structure 1202 connectsto hollow conduit 1250 such that cavity 1701 connects to channel 1702.Thus, signal lines 1722-1724 each extend from cavity 1701 and throughchannel 1702. Hollow conduit 1250 connects to bottom composite platestructure 1203 such that channel 1702 connects to shielded enclosure1703. Thus, signal lines 1722-1724 each extend through channel 1702 intoshielded enclosure 1703. Cavity 1701 and channel 1702 provide a shieldedspace inside I/O support structure 1200 c through which signal lines(e.g., signal lines 1722-1724) that are filtered in first tier 1211 mayextend into shielded enclosure 1703 while avoiding any substantialcoupling to noise outside of shielded enclosure 1703 (e.g., noise pickedup by crosstalk with signal lines 1721 and 1725 before signal lines 1721and 1725 are filtered in second tier 1212).

In some embodiments, each of signal lines 1721-1725 may include a shieldlayer (e.g., a braided shield). In many cryogenic applications, it ispreferred for such a shield layer to have a low thermal conductivity(e.g., a copper-nickel alloy), otherwise the signal lines may providethermal shorts between various cooling stages of the refrigerationsystem. This same principle applies in some embodiments of the presentsystems and devices. However, each of signal lines 1721-1725 includes asegment that extends from an output of a respective tubular filterstructure and propagates through channel 1702 and/or shielded enclosure1703. Channel 1702 and shielded enclosure 1703 define environments ofsubstantially uniform temperature where there are no connections betweendifferent thermal stages; thus, the segments of signal lines 1721-1725that propagate through these environments may include shield layers thatare not limited to materials of low thermal conductivity. Indeed, insome embodiments it may be advantageous to use a material with a highthermal conductivity (e.g., copper) as the braided shield on thesegments of signal lines 1721-1725 that propagate through channel 1702and/or shielded enclosure 1703. This can result in both improvedshielding performance (e.g., reduced cross-talk between signal lines1721-1725) and, because copper is diamagnetic, reduced remnant magneticfields in the environments of channel 1702 and shielded enclosure 1703.

The I/O systems and devices described herein may be used to providesuperconducting electrical communication with at least onesuperconducting device. The I/O systems and devices described herein mayalso serve to provide thermalization and shielding of the at least onesuperconducting device for which superconducting electricalcommunication is desired. The I/O systems and devices described hereinmay be particularly well-suited for use in providing superconductingelectrical communication with (as well as thermalization and shieldingof) at least one superconducting processor chip, such as asuperconducting quantum processor chip. However, the various embodimentsdescribed herein may be used to provide I/O systems and devices for awide range of different superconducting devices. Throughout theremainder of this specification, the at least one superconducting devicefor which superconducting electrical communication is desired isreferred to as the “device sample.”

In the various embodiments described herein, the device sample (e.g., asuperconducting processor chip) is positioned inside shielded enclosure1703 in bottom composite plate structure 1203. It is for this reasonthat each signal line (e.g., signal lines 1721-1725) leads to shieldedenclosure 1703. Structural support, thermalization, and the electricalcommunication interface with the device sample are provided by apedestal 1123 and device sample holder assembly 1124.

FIG. 18 is an isometric view of a portion of an embodiment of an I/Osystem 1800 including a pedestal 1810 and a device sample holderassembly 1820. The top portion 1801 of I/O system 1800 is substantiallysimilar to I/O support structure 1200 c from FIG. 12C, except thathollow tube 1203 b is removed from FIG. 18 to reveal the pedestal 1810and device sample holder assembly 1820 inside shielded enclosure 1703.Though not visible in the Figure, the pedestal 1810 connects to the topplate 1203 a of bottom composite plate structure 1203 and the devicesample holder assembly 1820 is carried by the pedestal 1810. Thepedestal 1810 provides structural support and thermalization of thedevice sample holder assembly 1820, and allows the device sample holderassembly 1820 to be easily removed from the I/O system 1800 formaintenance and/or for replacing the device sample itself.

In some embodiments, each signal line in the I/O system is electricallycoupled to the device sample holder assembly 1820 such that each signalline ultimately provides an electrical signal to the device sampleitself. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an embodimentof an I/O system 1900 showing exemplary signal lines 1901 and 1902.Signal line 1901 is filtered in the first tier 1911 of I/O system 1900.Signal line 1901 passes through top composite plate structure 1941 andenters gap 1921, where signal line 1901 connects to the input of anindividual tubular filer structure in a bundle (e.g., bundle 1300). Theindividual tubular filter structure filters the unwanted frequenciesfrom the signal(s) carried by signal line 1901. Signal line 1901 thencontinues from the output of the individual tubular filter structureinto the cavity 1931 in the inner volume of middle composite platestructure 1942. Signal line 1901 then extends through channel 1932 intoshielded enclosure 1933, where it is connected to device sample holderassembly 1960. Device sample holder assembly 1960 is carried by pedestal1950.

Signal line 1902 is filtered in the second tier 1912 of I/O system 1900.Signal line 1902 passes through top composite plate structure 1941 andalong the outside of at least one bundle in first tier 1911. Aspreviously described, signal line 1902 may be thermally coupled to atleast one bundle in first tier 1911. Signal line 1902 then passesthrough a notch or groove (not shown) in the outer edge of middlecomposite plate structure 1942 and into gap 1922, where it connects tothe input of an individual tubular filter structure in a bundle (e.g.,bundle 1300) in second tier 1912. The individual tubular filterstructure filters the unwanted frequencies from the signal(s) carried bysignal line 1902. Signal line 1902 then continues from the output of theindividual tubular filter structure into shielded enclosure 1933, wherethe signal line 1902 is connected to device sample holder assembly 1960.Device sample holder assembly 1960 is positioned inside shieldedenclosure 1933 in order to increase the isolation of the device samplefrom external noise.

The I/O systems and devices described herein are compatible with a widevariety of device sample holder assemblies, and are adaptable with awide variety of device samples. The present systems and devices providedevice sample holder assemblies that are particularly well-suited foruse with superconducting processors, for example superconducting quantumprocessors. Those of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that thepresent systems and devices may be adapted to provide I/O communicationwith other superconducting devices.

FIG. 20 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a device sample holderassembly carried by a pedestal 2050. The device sample holder assemblycomprises a plate 2000 formed by a thermally conductive material, forexample non-superconducting metal such as copper or brass, and at leastone printed circuit board (“PCB”) 2010 (only one called out in theFigure) arranged on a first surface of the plate 2000. A second surfaceof plate 2000 is mounted (e.g., by screws or bolts) on the pedestal2050, and the pedestal is connected to the top plate (e.g., top plate1203 a) of the bottom composite plate structure (e.g., bottom compositeplate structure 1203). The at least one PCB 2010 carries a plurality of(super)conductive traces, at least some of which electrically couple toa zero-insertion force (“ZIF”) socket 2020 on the PCB 2010. ZIF sockets2020 (only one called out in the Figure) provide part of a connectioninterface between the (super)conductive traces carried by the PCBs 2010and the signal lines that enter into shielded enclosure 1933 asillustrated in FIG. 19. In FIG. 20, these signal lines are representedby wire groups 2030 (only one called out in the Figure). Each wire group2030 comprises a plurality of signal lines (e.g., signal lines1721-1725, 1901, 1902). The plurality of signal lines may be groupedtogether and then fan out (as illustrated) to each connect to an edgecard 2040. Each wire group 2030 may connect to a respective edge card2040, and each edge card may insert into a respective ZIF socket 2020.Thus, the connection interface between a particular signal line of theI/O system and a particular (super)conductive trace on a PCB 2010comprises an edge card 2030 and a ZIF socket 1120.

From each ZIF socket 2020, (super)conductive traces carry signals on PCB2010 to/from the device sample itself. In FIG. 20, the device sampleholder assembly is adapted to accommodate two device samples, one inposition 2061 and another in position 2062. A device sample may besecured in place in position 2061 using an overlying frame 2071 and apair of clamps 2081, 2082. With overlying frame 2071 removed, a devicesample may be placed in position 2061 and then overlying frame 2071 maybe placed on top of the device sample. Clamps 2081 and 2082 may then beused to press down on overlying frame 2071 and hold the device sample inposition 2061. Similarly, overlying frame 2072 and clamps 2083, 2084 maybe used to secure a device sample in position 2062. Electricalcommunication between the (super)conductive traces on the PCBs 2010 andthe device samples (not shown) in positions 2061 and 2062 may beachieved by, for example, wire bonds. In some embodiments, each(super)conductive trace carried by the PCBs 2010 may be wire-bonded toat least one device sample.

While the device sample holder assembly shown in FIG. 20 is adapted toaccommodate two device samples (a respective one in each of positions2061 and 2062), a device sample holder assembly may accommodate only onedevice sample. FIG. 21 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a devicesample holder assembly carried by a pedestal 2150. The device sampleholder assembly shown in FIG. 21 is substantially similar to thatillustrated in FIG. 20, a difference being that the device sample holderassembly shown in FIG. 21 has only one position 2161 for receiving adevice sample. Otherwise, the device sample holder assembly shown inFIG. 21 includes PCBs 2110, ZIF sockets 2120, wire groups 2130, edgecards 2140, overlying frame 2171, and clamps 2181-2184 to the sameresult as that described for the device sample holder assembly shown inFIG. 20. Clear details of the wire-bonding, signal line to(super)conductive trace interface, and clamping are illustrated in FIG.22.

FIG. 22 is a sectional diagram of a device sample holder assembly 2200for accommodating a single device sample 2201. Device sample holderassembly 2200 includes a plate 2210 that is selectively mountableto/from (i.e., releasably coupleable) a pedestal (not shown in FIG. 22).Plate 2210 is formed of a thermally conductive material, for examplenon-superconducting metal such as copper or brass. The device sample2201 (e.g., a superconducting quantum processor chip) is positioned on asurface of plate 2210 to provide thermal coupling therebetween. PCBs2220 (only one called out in the Figure) of varying sizes are layered ontop of the perimeter of device sample 2201, leaving a gap at the centerwhere wire bonds 2230 (only one called out in the Figure) may beestablished. The PCBs 2220 are offset in their layering over devicesample 2201 so that wire bonds 2230 may be established with(super)conductive traces on the top surface of each PCB 2220. These(super)conductive traces (not shown) are carried on the top surface ofeach PCB 2220 and each electrically couple to a ZIF socket 2240 (onlyone called out in the Figure). In some embodiments, the(super)conductive traces may be carried on interior surfaces of the PCBs2220 in place of, or in addition to, the top surface. Each PCB 2220 hasat least one corresponding ZIF socket 2240. In each ZIF socket 2240 isinserted a respective edge card 2250 (only one called out in theFigure), to which the signal lines 2260 (only one called out in theFigure) of at least one wire group (e.g., wire group 2130 from FIG. 21)are connected.

As previously described, the PCBs 2220 are layered on top of theperimeter of the device sample 2201. The device sample 2201 is securedin place by clamps (not shown) that press down on an overlying frame2270, which lies on top of the PCBs 2220 and overlays the device sample2201. Thus, the clamping of overlying frame 2270 serves to secure thedevice sample 2201 in place, and also serves to secure the PCBs 2220 inplace overtop of the device sample 2201. This clamping force alsoimproves thermal contact between all of the components.

In some embodiments, plate 2210 may include a recess into which thedevice sample 2201 is positioned so that the PCBs may be layered on topof the device sample 2201 and still lay flat on the surface of plate2210. In the illustrated embodiment, there is no such recess, andinstead shims 2281, 2282 are used to level out the PCBs 2220. Shims 2281and 2282 may each comprise a slab of material (e.g., a thermallyconductive material, for example a non-superconducting metal such ascopper or brass) of approximately the same thickness as the devicesample 2201 to provide a substantially level plane upon which the PCBs2220 may be layered.

In some embodiments, a device sample holder assembly 2200 may be adaptedto accommodate at least one device for measuring a characteristic of theenvironment of the device sample. For example, device sample holderassembly 2200 may be adapted to accommodate at least one magnetometerfor measuring a magnetic field in the environment of the device sample.Examples of appropriate magnetometers are described in U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/104,179, filed Oct. 9, 2008 and entitled“Systems, Methods and Apparatus for Measuring Magnetic Fields.” In someembodiments, at least one of PCBs 2220 may include at least one regionfor receiving a magnetometer and appropriate conductive traces forcommunicating with the magnetometer.

Some embodiments may be adapted to accommodate multiple device sampleholder assemblies in a single system. For example, in some embodiments,a pedestal (such as pedestal 250 from FIG. 20) may be designed to carrya first sample holder assembly on a first surface and a second sampleholder assembly on a second surface.

The various embodiments described herein provide systems and devices formodular I/O systems. In the present systems and devices, each filterdevice is realized by a distinct tubular filter structure. Therefore, ifthere is a need to adjust the filtering of any given signal line,adjustments may need only be made to the signal line itself and thesingle individual tubular filter structure to which the signal linecorresponds. Furthermore, the “bundled” nature of the individual tubularfilter structures may facilitate that removal of a single filterstructure without overly disrupting the rest of the system.

As an alternative, some embodiments may employ just a superconductingwire with an appropriate cladding or sheathing as a low-pass filter.High frequency components run on the surface of a superconducting wiredue to the skin-depth effect. The high frequency components of thesignal could be dissipated in a resistive or grounded cladding orsheathing. For example, a niobium superconductor may carry the DCcomponent of the signal, while a resistive (i.e., non-superconducting)material (e.g., copper nickel) may dissipate the high frequencycomponents.

The above described embodiments provide superconducting electricalconnections while also providing high thermal conductivity between thevarious components, even though materials at superconductingtemperatures are typically thermally insulating or have poor thermalconductivity. There is essentially little or no convection, and whilethere is some radiation, conduction is the principal means of heattransfer in the system. A variety of approaches and structures areutilized to realize such characteristics. For example, all contactingsurfaces may be lapped and polished to enhance thermal conductivity andenable complete electrically conductive enclosure. Contacting surfacesmay also be gold-plated (ASTM B 488, Type II, Grade A, Class 2) tofurther enhance thermal conductivity.

Advantageously, the various components, including the electronics,exclude the use of substantially ferromagnetic materials. Thus, there isno use of steel fasteners, nickel or chrome plating, or stainless steel.It is noted that some alloys of copper-nickel are paramagnetic and maybe used. Thus, throughout this specification and the appended claims,the term “non-magnetic” or “substantially non-magnetic” is used todescribe a material that has a sufficiently low remnant magnetization soas not to adversely affect the operation of the superconducting devicesample. In some embodiments, a substantially non-magnetic is a materialthat is non-ferromagnetic. Materials should have no or minimal ironimpurities. For example, capacitors may be ceramic while inductors maybe custom-made air-core aluminum wire inductors. In some instances, itmay be advantageous to employ ultrasonic soldering or use of anaggressive flux in soldering techniques to create a good superconductingjoint.

Low temperature glues may be employed, for example Emerson and Cummings1266 or 2850ST glues.

Some embodiments may employ cooling fins, for example, with gold orgold-plated connections for transferring heat thereto. In someembodiments, gold-plating may, for example, have a thickness ofapproximate 1.5-2.5 microns.

Some embodiments may employ resistive wiring (e.g. superconductingmaterial such as Niobium with a non-superconducting cladding such ascopper and/or copper nickel) to provide some filtering, thereby reducingthe need for discrete filters. The use of coaxial cables and/or shieldedtwisted pair cables between various stages may advantageously reducecross talk. Some embodiments may provide for some or all the filteringto occur on the device sample.

In some embodiments, signal lines or cables may be realized byconductive traces on at least one printed circuit board, such as aflexible printed circuit board. Further details on I/O systemsimplementing flexible printed circuit boards may be found in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/256,332.

Some embodiments may employ on- or near-device sample control, forexample, moving some or all of the room temperature electronics to thedevice sample or some other refrigerated component or section (e.g., 77Ksection, 4K section, etc.). Further descriptions of such systems arefound in US Patent Publication No. 2008-0215850. Such may also eliminateor reduce the amount of room temperature wires or cable. Such mayadvantageously reduce noise levels and consequently reduce the need forfiltering. Some embodiments may employ laser ablation. Some embodimentsmay employ flip-chip techniques, for example a ball grid array or solderbumps to attach the device sample or a separate control chip, in lieu ofwire bonding. Some embodiments may employ a separate control chip. Someembodiments may use flexible fingers or prongs or spring contacts (e.g.,pre-stressed metal prongs) to make attachments. The device sample and aseparate control chip may be connected using a plug-in socket and pinapproach, similar to the 2-prong fork and stick approach describedabove, or at least one ZIF socket. Some embodiments may employ probecards. Such may include a keyed location for the device sample in atwenty-four probe card arrangement. Device samples may be thermalizedusing metallization of the back or the device sample and/or a pluralityof needle contacts (e.g., gold tipped needles). Probe card based devicesample packaging may employ Tungsten-Rhenium alloys for the needles, asdescribed in PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US09/037984. Circuitboards in the device sample holder assembly may be formed from a varietyof materials, and insulator thickness may be minimized by using acircuit board made of metal rather than resistive or insulative material(e.g., metal substrate with insulated components formed or placedthereon.) The device sample holder assembly may include a lid, which maycomprise a material that is superconducting below a criticaltemperature, such that the device sample is at least partially enclosedin a superconducting enclosure.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, reference isoften made to a refrigeration system, such as refrigeration system 1112.As previously discussed, refrigeration system 1112 may include adilution refrigerator. In various embodiments, refrigeration system 1112may include at least one component selected from the group consistingof: pulse tube cryocoolers, cryogenic cycle refrigerators, adsorptionpumps, gas-gap heat switches, evaporation pots, condensation surfaces,liquid helium-3 coolant, liquid helium-4 coolant, and a mixture ofliquid helium-3 coolant and liquid helium-4 coolant. In someembodiments, the present systems and devices may be combined with therefrigeration systems described above. In other embodiments, the presentsystems, methods and apparatus may be used with other forms ofrefrigeration systems.

Some embodiments may employ additional systems, methods and apparatusfor magnetic shielding. Examples of systems, methods and apparatus formagnetic shielding that may be appropriate are described in PCT PatentApplication Serial No. PCT/US09/032744, US Patent Publication No.2009-0122508, and US Patent Publication No. 2009-0168286. Furthermore,some embodiments may incorporate non-superconducting magnetic shieldswithin the refrigerated environment, for example mu-metal, cryoperm,and/or finement magnetic shields. Such non-superconducting materials maybe used, for example, to shield the device sample from local sources ofmagnetic fields, such as magnetic components within or proximate therefrigerated environment. However, these materials (e.g., mu-metal,cryoperm, and finement) are often poor thermal conductors and efficientthermalization of magnetic shields formed of these materials can bechallenging. For example, finement is a material whose magneticshielding capability improves with effective material thickness and/orwhen multiple layers are implemented (e.g., a coil of finement materialsurrounding the environment being shielded), but cooling such a coil canbe challenging because finement is a poor thermal conductor. Inaccordance with the present systems and devices, the thermalization of afinement magnetic shield (or any magnetic shield made of a material thatis non-superconducting) may be improved by plating or laminating atleast one surface of the shield material with a material that is highlythermally conductive, such as copper. This technique is particularlyeffective when a multi-layered (e.g., coiled) magnetic shield isimplemented, since having at least one surface of the material plated orlaminated with copper introduces a good thermal path throughout thevolume of the shield.

Various embodiments described herein provide systems and devices forestablishing electrical communication between a vacuum environment(e.g., inside a refrigeration system) and a non-vacuum environment(e.g., outside the refrigeration system). Referring again to FIG. 11,various embodiments described herein provide systems and devices forestablishing electrical communication between a refrigerated environment1112 and room temperature electronics 1114, for example, through avacuum connector box 1116. In the preferred embodiment, the presentsystems and devices implement flexible printed circuit board cable inlieu of traditional cables (e.g., coaxial cables, electrical wires,shielded twisted pair cables, ribbon cables, etc.) to achieve improvedthermalization, to simplify routing of the electrical signal paths, toreduce costs, to reduce crosstalk between electrical signal paths, andto reduce the number of electrical connectors in the system.

Establishing electrical communication between two environments ofsubstantially different pressure (e.g., a vacuum environment and anon-vacuum environment) is typically achieved in the known art usinghermetically sealed electrical connectors. A hermetically sealed D-Subconnector is an example of such a device.

FIG. 23A is a bottom plan view of a hermetically sealed D-Sub connector2300. Connector 2300 includes a standard D-Sub receptacle 2301 withsockets 2310 (only one called out in the Figure) which is potted inepoxy 2330 and mounted in flange 2320. Flange 2320 may also include an“O”-ring seal 2340. D-Sub receptacle 2301 connects through the flange2320 to a D-Sub plug (not visible in FIG. 23A) with pins as opposed tosockets 2310. Thus, connector 2300 may be mounted (using flange 2320) ina hole in the interface between a vacuum environment and a non-vacuumenvironment to provide a D-Sub receptacle 2301 in one environment and aD-Sub plug (not visible in FIG. 23A) in the other environment, therebyenabling an electrical connection between the two environments.

FIG. 23B is a side elevational view of the hermetically sealed D-Subconnector 2300 from FIG. 23A, showing the D-Sub receptacle 2301connecting through the flange 2320 to the D-Sub plug 2302. As previouslydescribed, receptacle 2301 may include a plurality of sockets and plug2302 may include a plurality of pins. Flange 2320 may be used to mountconnector 2300 in a hole in the interface between a vacuum environmentand a non-vacuum environment such that receptacle 2301 extends into oneenvironment and plug 2302 extends into the other environment. Theelectrical connection(s) between receptacle 2301 and plug 2302 arehermetically sealed through flange 2320, thus connector 2300 provides ahermetically sealed electrical connection between the two environments.

There are several disadvantages to implementing a hermetically sealedelectrical connector such as connector 2300. One disadvantage is thatsuch a connector is typically expensive. Another disadvantage is thatsuch a connector is often a considerable source of electrical noise andcrosstalk in the electrical signal paths that connect therethrough. Insystems involving highly sensitive electronics, it is desirable tomitigate all sources of electrical noise and crosstalk. Thus, there is aneed in the art for a comparably inexpensive mechanism to establishelectrical communication through a hermetic seal while introducing lesselectrical noise and crosstalk than available electrical connectors.

In accordance with the present systems and devices, electricalcommunication between a vacuum environment and a non-vacuum environmentcan advantageously be achieved using a hermetically sealed feed-throughstructure as opposed to an electrical connector. In this way, anelectrical signal path can be carried in a continuous conductor thatextends through the interface between the two environments. In thepreferred embodiment, the present systems and devices implement flexibleprinted circuit board cables in lieu of traditional cables.

FIG. 24A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a plate 2400 for usein a hermetically sealed electrical feed-through structure. Plate 2400includes a plurality of elongated through-holes 2410 (only one calledout in the Figure), each for receiving a respective flexible printedcircuit board cable (not shown). In some embodiments, plate 2400 may beformed of metal. Plate 2400 may be mated with a flange to assemble ahermetically sealable electrical feed-through structure.

FIG. 24B is an isometric view of an embodiment of a flange 2450 for usein a hermetically sealed electrical feed-through structure. Flange 2450includes a recess 2460 sized and dimensioned to receive and mate withplate 2400 from FIG. 24A. Flange 2450 also includes a through-hole 2470that forms a cavity when plate 2400 is mated in recess 2460. In someembodiments, flange 2450 may be formed of metal. Flange 2450 may bemated with plate 2410 to assemble a hermetically sealable electricalfeed-through structure.

FIG. 25A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure 2500. In the illustratedembodiment, feed-through structure 2500 is an assembly comprising plate2400 mated with flange 2450. As in FIG. 24A, plate 2400 includes aplurality of elongated through-holes 2410 (only one called out in FIG.25A) each for receiving a respective flexible printed circuit boardcable (not shown). In feed-through structure 2500, plate 2400 covers thethrough-hole (2470 from FIG. 24B) that extends through flange 2450,thereby defining a cavity. Feed-through structure 2500 is “sealable” asopposed to “sealed” because the hermetic seal is only established afterthe respective flexible printed circuit board cables are fed through theelongated through-holes in plate 2400 and the cables are not shown inFIG. 25A. This hermetic seal is established, at least in part, bypotting the cavity beneath plate 2400 with a sealant, such as an epoxymixture.

FIG. 25B is an isometric view of an embodiment of the hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure 2500 from FIG. 25A, showing acavity 2510 in the underside of the flange 2450. Cavity 2510 is formedby the through-hole (2470 from FIG. 24B) in flange 2450 and closed atone end by plate 2400. Cavity 2510 is adjacent to plate 2400 such thateach elongated through-hole 2410 in plate 2400 extends through plate2400 and into cavity 2510. In some embodiments, feed-through structure2500 may be hermetically sealed once a respective flexible printedcircuit board cable has been fed through each of elongated through-holes2410 by potting cavity 2510 with a sealant, such as an epoxy mixture.Flange 2450 may then be mounted in a hole in the interface between avacuum environment and a non-vacuum environment to establish a hermeticseal. To this end, the underside of flange 2450 may include a groove2520 for receiving an “O”-ring seal.

The embodiment of a hermetically sealable electrical feed-throughstructure 2500 shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B is an assembly comprising atleast two components: a plate 2400 and a flange 2450. In alternativeembodiments, a similar structure may be formed of a single piece ofmaterial with a plurality of elongated through-holes feeding into (i.e.,adjacent to) a cavity. That is, an alternative embodiment may be formedby a plate having a first surface and a second surface opposite thefirst surface, wherein the first surface of the plate includes at leastone elongated through-hole for receiving a flexible printed circuitboard cable. The at least one elongated through-hole extends out throughthe second surface of the plate. The plate may have a sufficientthickness to accommodate a cavity that is adjacent to the second surfaceof the plate such that the at least one elongated through-hole extendsthrough the plate and into the cavity.

As previously described, each elongated through-hole 2410 in ahermetically sealable electrical feed-through structure 2500 is sizedand dimensioned to receive a respective flexible printed circuit boardcable. FIG. 26A is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure 2600 showing a flexibleprinted circuit board cable 2630 received by an elongated through-hole2611. Similar to feed-through structure 2500 from FIGS. 25A and 25B,feed-through structure 2600 is an assembly comprising a plate 2601 and aflange 2650. Cable 2630 passes through an elongated through-hole 2611 inplate 2601 and through an adjacent cavity (not visible, but similar tocavity 2510 from FIG. 25B) in flange 2650. In the illustratedembodiment, a portion of cable 2630 extends out of the back of flange2650 and is electrically coupled to another flexible printed circuitboard cable 2640 through a connector 2660. Connector 2660 may include,for example, a zero-insertion force connector. In some embodiments,cable 2640 may include at least one superconducting trace such thatconnector 2660 provides an interface between non-superconducting tracescarried by cable 2630 and superconducting traces carried by cable 2640.In such embodiments, cable 2640 is positioned within a refrigeratedenvironment while cable 2640 may be positioned outside of therefrigerated environment. In alternative embodiments, cable 2640 may bereplaced by one or a plurality of traditional cables, such as coaxialcables, shielded twisted pair cables, wires, and the like. In stillother embodiments, cable 2630 may be sufficiently long that cable 2640is not needed.

FIG. 26B is an isometric view of an embodiment of the hermeticallysealable electrical feed-through structure 2600 from FIG. 26A, showingflexible printed circuit board cable 2630 extending through a cavity2625 in the flange 2650. Once a respective flexible printed circuitboard cable is fed through each elongated through-hole in the plate2601, cavity 2625 may be potted with a sealant such that cavity 2625 ishermetically sealed. In some embodiments, the sealant may comprise anepoxy mixture. In some applications, it may be desirable to reduce thetransmission of electromagnetic interference through the feed-throughstructure. Such transmission may be reduced by including a quantity ofmetal powder in the sealant. Thus, in some embodiments, the sealant maycomprise a mixture of metal powder and epoxy. The metal powder maycomprise, for example, copper powder or brass powder. In someapplications, not all of the elongated through-holes in the plate 2601will receive a flexible printed circuit board cable. In suchapplications, the sealant may seal those elongated through-holes whichdo not receive a respective flexible printed circuit board cable.

In some embodiments, it may be advantageous to include at least oneelectrical connection between the flange 2650 and the shielding metal ofthe flexible printed circuit board cable.

As previously described, a hermetically sealed/sealable electricalfeed-through structure may include a plate with a plurality of elongatedthrough-holes, where each elongated through-hole is for receiving arespective flexible printed circuit board cable. FIG. 27 is an isometricview of an embodiment of a hermetically sealable electrical feed-throughstructure 2700 showing a plurality of flexible printed circuit boardcables 2731-2735 each received by a respective elongated through-hole2710 (only one called out in the Figure). While a total of nineelongated through-holes 2710 are included in feed-through structure2700, those of skill in the art will appreciate that any number ofelongated through-holes, and any number of corresponding flexibleprinted circuit board cables, may similarly be employed. FIG. 27 alsoshows a single flexible printed circuit board cable 2740 extending fromthe back of the flange 2750. In practice, each of flexible printedcircuit board cables 2731-2735 may connect to a respective flexibleprinted circuit board cable (e.g., 2740) after passing throughfeed-through structure 2700. As previously described, in alternativeembodiments each of flexible printed circuit board cables 2731-2735 maycouple to at least one traditional cable (e.g., coaxial cable, shieldedtwisted pair cable, wire, etc.) as opposed to coupling to anotherflexible printed circuit board cable 2740.

Various embodiments described herein provide systems and devices forhermetically sealed electrical feed-through structures. The embodimentsshown in FIGS. 25A, 25B, 26A, 26B, and 27 are all described as beinghermetically “sealable” as opposed to hermetically “sealed” because eachof those illustrated embodiments includes at least one elongatedthrough-hole that is not filled by a flexible printed circuit boardcable. In order for a hermetically “sealable” electrical feed-throughstructure to be hermetically “sealed”, each elongated through-hole inthe feed-through structure must be hermetically sealed with a flexibleprinted circuit board cable and/or sealant.

FIG. 28 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a hermetically sealedelectrical feed-through structure 2800 for providing electricalcommunication between two environments that are at substantiallydifferent pressures. In the illustrated embodiment, nine flexibleprinted circuit board cables 2830 (only one called out in the Figure)are each fed through a respective elongated through-hole (not visible)adjacent a first side of feed-through structure 2800. Each of the nineflexible printed circuit board cables 2830 extends through feed-throughstructure 2800 and may couple to a respective flexible printed circuitboard cable 2840 (only one shown in the Figure to reduce clutter)adjacent a second side of feed-through structure 2800. Towardsestablishing a hermetic seal, the volume of each elongated through-hole(not visible) that remains unfilled after a flexible printed circuitboard cable is fed therethrough may be sealed using a sealant 2880. Insome embodiments, the sealant may comprise a glue, such as a UV gluethat is cured by exposure to UV radiation. While sealant 2880 maydirectly contribute to the hermetic seal of feed-through structure 2800,sealant 2880 also facilitates the potting of the cavity in feed-throughstructure 2800 (not visible, but similar to cavity 2510 from FIG. 25B)with epoxy by preventing the epoxy from passing through the elongatedthrough-holes. To this end, sealant 2880 may also be applied around theperimeter of the plate 2801 to ensure it is hermetically mated with theflange 2850.

Sealant 2880 serves, at least in part, to facilitate the potting of thecavity in feed-through structure 2800 with epoxy. FIG. 29 is anisometric view of hermetically sealed electrical feed-through structure2800 from FIG. 28, showing the cavity 2910 potted with an epoxy 2980. Aspreviously described, in some embodiments it may be advantageous toachieve an electromagnetic shielding effect by including a quantity ofmetal powder (e.g., copper powder or brass powder) mixed in with theepoxy 2980. To this end, similar or additional electromagnetic shieldingeffects may be achieved by encasing feed-through structure 2800 with ametallic shell to block electromagnetic radiation.

In some embodiments, a plurality of hermetically sealed electricalfeed-through structures, such as feed-through structure 2800, may bemounted to a single vacuum box (e.g., vacuum connector box 1116 fromFIG. 11). FIG. 30 is an isometric view of an embodiment of ahermetically sealed electrical communication interface 3000 comprising aplurality of hermetically sealed electrical feed-through structures 3001(only one fully illustrated and called out in the Figure to reduceclutter) all mounted to a vacuum box 3020. Vacuum box 3020 includes aplurality of openings (not visible in the Figure) each for receiving arespective feed-through structure 3001. Vacuum box 3020 is also hollowto accommodate electrical cables (e.g., flexible printed circuit boardcables 3040) that transmit through each feed-through structure 3001.Feed-through structure 3001 may be substantially similar to feed-throughstructure 2800 from FIGS. 28 and 29, and flexible printed circuit boardcables 3040 may extend within the refrigerated environment (not shown)to provide electrical communication with devices therein. In embodimentsfor which electromagnetic shielding is desired, the hollow volume ofvacuum box 3020 may be at least partially filled with a metal wool, suchas brass wool, to block the transmission of electromagnetic radiationthrough the feed-through structures 3001.

Various embodiments described herein provide systems and devices forestablishing electrical communication between two environments that areat substantially different pressures. The implementation of hermeticallysealed electrical feed-through structures as opposed to electricalconnectors enables an electrical signal path to be carried through acontinuous conductor that extends through the interface between the twoenvironments without passing through a noisy connector. In the preferredembodiment, the present systems and devices implement flexible printedcircuit board cables in lieu of traditional cables.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the various embodimentsdescribed above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspectsof the present systems, devices, and methods can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ systems, methods, apparatus and concepts of thevarious patents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments of the systems, devices, and methods. For example, thevarious systems, devices, and methods may include a different number ofmetal or dielectric layers than set out in the illustrated embodiments,such as three or more metal layers and two or more insulating dielectriclayers alternating with the metal layers, the layers may be disposed ina different order or area, or the embodiments may omit some elements,and/or employ additional elements.

All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S.patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications andnon-patent publications referred to in this specification including, butnot limited to: U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/080,996,filed Jul. 15, 2008, entitled “Input/Output System and Devices for Usewith Superconducting Devices”; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 61/080,997, filed Jul. 15, 2008, entitled “Systems, Methods, andApparatus for Differential Electrical Filters”; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/110,382, filed Oct. 31, 2008, entitled “Systemsand Devices for Hermetically Sealed Electrical Feed-Throughs”; US PatentPublication No. 2006-0225165; US Patent Publication No. 2008-0176750;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/266,378; PCT Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US09/37984; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/016,801;US Patent Publication No. 2008-0176751; US Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/104,179, filed Oct. 9, 2008, entitled “Systems,Methods and Apparatus for Measuring Magnetic Fields”; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/256,332; US Patent Publication No. 2008-0215850;PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US09/032744; US Patent PublicationNo. 2009-0122508; US Patent Publication No. 2009-0168286; U.S. Pat. No.8,279,022; and US Patent Publication No. 2015-0263260 are incorporatedherein by reference, in their entirety and for all purposes. Aspects ofthe embodiments can be modified, if necessary, to employ systems,circuits and concepts of the various patents, applications andpublications to provide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the present systems, devices, andmethods in light of the above description. In general, in the followingclaims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the systems,devices, and methods to the specific embodiments disclosed in thespecification and the claims, but should be construed to include allpossible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to whichsuch claims are entitled. Accordingly, the systems, devices, and methodsare not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is to bedetermined entirely by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. An input/output system for use with a superconductingdevice sample, the input/output system comprising: a first tierincluding a first set of electrical filter structures, wherein each ofthe electrical filter structures in the first set of electrical filterstructures comprises a respective lumped element filter that is at leastpartially contained within a respective enclosure, and wherein each ofthe electrical filter structures in the first set of electrical filterstructures has an input end and an output end; a first set of electricalsignal paths, each of the electrical signal paths in the first set ofelectrical signal paths including a filter input portion, a filterportion, and a filter output portion, wherein the filter input portionof each respective one of the electrical signal paths in the first setof electrical signal paths communicably couples to the input end of arespective one of the electrical filter structures from the first set ofelectrical filter structures, the filter portion of each respective oneof the electrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signalpaths includes at least a portion of the lumped element filter of arespective one of the electrical filter structures from the first set ofelectrical filter structures, and the filter output portion of eachrespective one of the electrical signal paths in the first set ofelectrical signal paths communicably couples to the output end of arespective one of the electrical filter structures from the first set ofelectrical filter structures, wherein at least a portion of each one ofthe electrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signal pathsis superconducting and each one of the electrical signal paths in thefirst set of electrical signal paths provides electrical communicationwith at least a portion of the superconducting device sample; a firstcomposite plate structure having a first top plate and a first bottomplate, wherein the first top plate and the first bottom plate mate toform a first inner volume therebetween on a first side of the first topplate, and wherein each of the electrical filter structures in the firstset of electrical filter structures is carried by a second side of thefirst top plate that is opposite the first side of the first top platesuch that the filter output portion of at least one of the electricalsignal paths from the first set of electrical signal paths extends fromthe second side of the first top plate, through the first top plate, andinto the first inner volume; a pedestal mounted to the first side of thefirst top plate inside the first inner volume; and a device sampleholder assembly selectively mountable to and dismountable from thepedestal inside the first inner volume, wherein the device sample holderassembly includes at least one printed circuit board, at least a portionof the device sample holder assembly superconductingly electricallycouples to at least one of the electrical signal paths from the firstset of electrical signal paths, and at least a portion of the devicesample holder assembly superconductingly electrically couples to thesuperconducting device sample.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein theenclosure of at least one of the electrical filter structures is atleast partially filled with a mixture of metal powder and epoxy.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein the metal powder includes at least one ofbrass powder and copper powder.
 4. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a mounting plate for mounting to a refrigeration system. 5.The system of claim 1 wherein the respective enclosure of each of theelectrical filter structures in the first set of electrical filterstructures and the first composite plate structure are all formed ofmaterial that is substantially non-magnetic and predominatelynon-superconducting.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one ofthe electrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signal pathsis configured to carry at least a portion of a differential signal. 7.The system of claim 6 wherein at least a portion of the filter inputportion of at least one of the electrical signal paths in the first setof electrical signal paths includes a shielded twisted pair cable, andwherein at least a portion of the filter output portion of at least oneof the electrical signal paths in the first set of electrical signalpaths includes a shielded twisted pair cable.
 8. The system of claim 1,further comprising: a second tier including a second set of electricalfilter structures, wherein each of the electrical filter structures inthe second set of electrical filter structures comprises a respectivelumped element filter that is at least partially contained within arespective enclosure, and wherein each of the electrical filterstructures in the second set of electrical filter structures has aninput end and an output end; a second set of electrical signal paths,each of the electrical signal paths in the second set of electricalsignal paths including a filter input portion, a filter portion, and afilter output portion, wherein the filter input portion of eachrespective one of the electrical signal paths in the second set ofelectrical signal paths communicably couples to the input end of arespective one of the electrical filter structures from the second setof electrical filter structures, the filter portion of each respectiveone of the electrical signal paths in the second set of electricalsignal paths includes at least a portion of the lumped element filter ofa respective one of the electrical filter structures from the second setof electrical filter structures, and the filter output portion of eachrespective one of the electrical signal paths in the second set ofelectrical signal paths communicably couples to the output end of arespective one of the electrical filter structures from the second setof electrical filter structures, wherein at least a portion of each ofthe electrical signal paths in the second set of electrical signal pathsis superconducting and each of the electrical signal paths in the secondset of electrical signal paths provides electrical communication with atleast a portion of the superconducting device sample; a second compositeplate structure having a second top plate and a second bottom plate,wherein the second top plate and the second bottom plate mate to form asecond inner volume therebetween on a first side of the second topplate, and wherein each of the electrical filter structures in thesecond set of electrical filter structures is carried by a second sideof the second top plate that is opposite the first side of the secondtop plate such that the filter output portion of at least one of theelectrical signal paths from the second set of electrical signal pathsextends from the second side of the second top plate, through the secondtop plate, and into the second inner volume; wherein the first innervolume and the second inner volume both form respective parts of ashielded enclosure that contains the pedestal and device sample holderassembly.
 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising: a hollow conduitthat extends between the first inner volume and the second inner volumeand provides a shielded channel through which at least a portion of atleast one electrical signal path from at least one of the first set ofelectrical signal paths and the second set of electrical signal pathsmay pass between the first inner volume and the second inner volume. 10.The system of claim 9 wherein a first end of the first tier ispositioned adjacent to the first top plate of the first composite platestructure and a second end of the first tier is positioned adjacent tothe second bottom plate of the second composite plate structure, andwherein the second top plate of the second composite plate structure ispositioned adjacent to the second tier, and wherein the hollow conduitextends through the first tier and the shielded channel extends betweenthe first inner volume within the first composite plate structure andthe second inner volume within the second composite plate structure. 11.The system of claim 10 wherein at least a portion of the filter outputportion of at least one of the electrical signal paths from the secondset of electrical signal paths enters the second inner volume in thesecond composite plate structure from the output end of a respective oneof the electrical filter structures from the second set of electricalfilter structures that is mounted on the second side of the second topplate, and the at least a portion of the filter output portion of the atleast one electrical signal path extends through the shielded channel ofthe hollow conduit into the first inner volume in the first compositeplate structure where the at least a portion of the filter outputportion of the at least one electrical signal path is superconductinglyelectrically coupled to at least a portion of the device sample holderassembly.
 12. The system of claim 9 wherein the hollow conduit is formedof a material that is substantially non-magnetic and predominatelynon-superconducting.
 13. The system of claim 1 wherein thesuperconducting device sample includes a superconducting processor. 14.The system of claim 13 wherein the superconducting processor includes asuperconducting quantum processor.